⌨The day was dominated by the formal merger of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, pledging support to the NDA. This move, reported from early afternoon onward by Times of India, Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, India Today, ABP Live, and News18, capped weeks of defections and internal strife within Mamata Banerjee's party. The rebels met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and BJP's Bengal in-charge, signaling a realignment of Bengal's political landscape.
Meanwhile, the US-Iran peace deal narrative persisted but with new friction: Trump criticized Israel's Beirut strike as disruptive to the deal, while Iran warned of retaliation. The rescue of 14 Indian crew from a sinking vessel off Oman, initially framed as an attack, was later attributed to engine failure. PM Modi's France visit and the Bharat Innovates event received coverage but were overshadowed by the TMC split.