Current Affairs May 2026 for UPSC: Assembly Election Results, SIR Verdict, NEET-UG Cancellation, Kharif MSP and the India-Nordic Summit

May 2026 at a Glance

🎯 May 2026: 1 to 31 May. May belongs to the election results: the BJP won West Bengal, the TVK won Tamil Nadu, the UDF won Kerala and the BJP-led alliance held Assam. It also carried a Supreme Court verdict on the voter-roll revision, the cancellation of NEET-UG, the kharif MSP and the Prime Minister's five-nation tour. Everything below comes from news reports and pages that cite the Election Commission, so seat counts may differ by one or two across sources; check the official table before the exam.

May at a glance

Polity: the 2026 Assembly Results

Counting for all five legislatures took place on 4 May. These seat tables use the totals reported on the day, which sum to the full strength of each House.

Polity: the 2026 assembly results

• West Bengal: the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Bhabanipur. The Election Commission scrapped the poll in Falta for severe electoral offences and the seat was re-polled on 21 May, with the result declared on 24 May.

• Tamil Nadu: the TVK won 108 seats on its own (some live trackers showed 109), displacing the DMK. Turnout of 85.1 per cent was the highest in the State's history. Vijay was sworn in on 10 May and won the floor test on 13 May, after M.K. Stalin resigned on 5 May.

• Kerala: the UDF returned to power with 102 of 140 seats; turnout was 79.53 per cent. The Puducherry result is not verified here.

• Static: the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor (Article 164) and the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Assembly (Article 164(2)); a party needs more than half of the seats, the majority mark, to form a government without support.

Governance: the SIR Verdict, NEET-UG and Karnataka

Three governance items carry the exam angle: the SIR verdict, the NEET-UG cancellation and a change of Chief Minister in Karnataka.

Polity and governance: SIR, NEET-UG and Karnataka

• SIR upheld (27 May). A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi upheld the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Commission has the power under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950; it may examine citizenship during verification but cannot finally determine it, and it must presume in favour of voters already on the rolls. The Court voiced concern about the rushed process and about exclusion. Static: Article 326 gives adult suffrage; citizenship is decided under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

• NEET-UG cancelled (12 May). The National Testing Agency cancelled NEET-UG 2026, held on 3 May, after a paper-leak row that surfaced in Rajasthan. The Centre ordered a CBI probe and about 22 lakh candidates were affected. The re-examination was set for Sunday 21 June 2026 with no fresh registration or fee. Static: the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 targets paper leaks in central recruitment and examinations.

• Karnataka (28-30 May). Siddaramaiah resigned on 28 May on the Congress leadership's direction and the legislature party elected D.K. Shivakumar its leader on 30 May; he was sworn in on 3 June.

Economy and Environment: Kharif MSP and the Monsoon Outlook

The kharif MSP is an annual prelims item. Know the method and the headline figure.

Economy and environment: kharif MSP and the monsoon outlook

• Kharif MSP 2026-27 (CCEA, 13 May). The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs raised the MSP for 14 kharif crops. Common paddy rises by Rs 72 to Rs 2,441 per quintal (from Rs 2,369) and Grade A paddy is Rs 2,461. The biggest absolute hikes reported were sunflower seed (Rs 622), cotton (Rs 557), nigerseed (Rs 515) and sesamum (Rs 500). Static: MSP is set at not less than 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production (the Budget 2018-19 principle); the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends and the CCEA approves.

• Monsoon outlook (secondary). The India Meteorological Department's updated forecast was 90 per cent of the long-period average (plus or minus 4 per cent), down from 92 per cent in April, because of a developing strong El Niño; the core monsoon zone was expected below 94 per cent. The onset over Kerala came on 4 June, three days late. Static: a season is 'normal' at 96 to 104 per cent of the LPA and 'deficient' below 90 per cent; the LPA is 87 cm (1971-2020).

International Relations: the Five-Nation Tour

In the middle of May the Prime Minister visited five countries in six days. Each stop produced one phrase worth remembering.

International relations: the five-nation tour (15-20 May)

• The energy pacts with the UAE followed the disruption of Gulf supplies in the Iran war; the Netherlands and India also called for freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz (secondary sources).

• Static: the earlier India-Nordic Summits were held in Stockholm (2018) and Copenhagen (2022); the Nordic five are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; the India-EFTA TEPA, which involves Norway, took effect on 1 October 2025.

Further Reading

• PIB press releases, ministry websites and annual reports, the Gazette of India, MEA and UN documents and the official sources named in each note — the primary sources behind every fact above.

How UPSC Could Ask This Next

Here is how UPSC could turn May into questions.

How UPSC could ask this next

• Elections: who appoints the Chief Minister, what a floor test is, the Election Commission's power to countermand a poll, the legal basis of the SIR, the Representation of the People Act provisions.

• Agriculture: how MSP is set, how many crops are covered, which crops have the highest hikes, the role of CACP and the CCEA.

• IR: the order of partnership levels (strategic, special strategic), the Nordic five, EFTA members and the TEPA, the location of Fujairah.

• Exams and law: what the Public Examinations Act, 2024 does, and the difference between the NTA and a statutory board.

• Climate: monsoon categories, El Niño and its effect on rainfall.

Test Yourself: Practice Questions

Sixteen practice questions on May 2026, each tied to a verified fact.

Practice Questions

Q1. In the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, the BJP won

• (a) 208 of 294 seats

• (b) 148 of 294 seats

• (c) 250 of 294 seats

• (d) 162 of 294 seats

Q2. In the 2026 West Bengal election, which constituency was re-polled on 21 May?

• (a) Nandigram

• (b) Jangipur

• (c) Falta

• (d) Bhabanipur

Q3. Who was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 10 May 2026?

• (a) Edappadi K. Palaniswami

• (b) C. Joseph Vijay

• (c) O. Panneerselvam

• (d) M.K. Stalin

Q4. In the 2026 Tamil Nadu election, the turnout of 85.1 per cent was

• (a) lower than in 2021

• (b) the same as in 2021

• (c) the highest in the State's history

• (d) the lowest since 1967

Q5. The UDF's seat tally in the 2026 Kerala election was

• (a) 91 of 140

• (b) 71 of 140

• (c) 102 of 140

• (d) 120 of 140

Q6. The Chief Minister of a State is appointed by the

• (a) Speaker of the Assembly

• (b) Election Commission

• (c) Governor

• (d) President

Q7. The Supreme Court on 27 May 2026 held that the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is within its power under

• (a) Article 326 alone

• (b) the Citizenship Act, 1955

• (c) Article 324 and the Representation of the People Act, 1950

• (d) Article 243K

Q8. According to the Court's ruling on the SIR, the Election Commission

• (a) cannot revise rolls between general elections

• (b) may decide citizenship finally

• (c) can strike names off only after a court order

• (d) may examine citizenship during verification but cannot finally determine it

Q9. NEET-UG 2026, held on 3 May, was cancelled by the

• (a) Union Public Service Commission

• (b) Central Board of Secondary Education

• (c) National Testing Agency

• (d) Medical Council of India

Q10. The paper-leak row over NEET-UG 2026 led the Centre to order a probe by the

• (a) NIA

• (b) CBI

• (c) Serious Fraud Investigation Office

• (d) Enforcement Directorate

Q11. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs raised the kharif MSP for 2026-27 for how many crops?

• (a) 7

• (b) 22

• (c) 23

• (d) 14

Q12. The MSP of common paddy for 2026-27 is

• (a) Rs 2,800 per quintal

• (b) Rs 2,183 per quintal

• (c) Rs 2,369 per quintal

• (d) Rs 2,441 per quintal

Q13. MSP is fixed at not less than what multiple of the all-India weighted average cost of production?

• (a) 1.2

• (b) 1.0

• (c) 1.5

• (d) 2.0

Q14. The 3rd India-Nordic Summit in May 2026 was held at

• (a) Stockholm

• (b) Helsinki

• (c) Copenhagen

• (d) Oslo

Q15. India and Italy in May 2026 elevated their relationship to a

• (a) Comprehensive Global Partnership

• (b) Strategic Partnership

• (c) Privileged Partnership

• (d) Special Strategic Partnership

Q16. The IMD's updated monsoon forecast for 2026 was

• (a) 110 per cent of the LPA

• (b) 90 per cent of the long-period average

• (c) 104 per cent of the LPA

• (d) 96 per cent of the LPA

Mains Practice Questions

Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.

• Examine the legal basis and the limits of the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision in the light of the Supreme Court's 2026 verdict.

• Discuss the causes of recurring paper leaks in national examinations and evaluate the effectiveness of the Public Examinations Act, 2024.

• Explain how the MSP is determined and critically assess the 1.5 times cost formula.

• Assess the strategic importance of India's partnerships with the Nordic countries and the Netherlands.