Firstpost Editor's Picks: Congress faces existential threat, best Bollywood films of 2019 so far, understanding mental illness; today's must-read stories

Congress faces existential threat as party struggles to hold on to Karnataka, present united front in poll-bound Maharashtra The wins in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh now appear to be events of the past decade. Assembly elections in Maharashtra, its traditional stronghold, are coming up in three months, but the Congress is coming apart at the seams and may fail to put up even a semblance of a fight against the ruling BJP. We are witness to an epochal moment when the power equation between parties in India will have to be redrawn with BJP replacing Congress as the new epicentre of Indian politics. Jharkhand's focus on asset creation under MGNREGS impressive, but efficacy of mango farms in addressing poverty, migration doubtful Since its inception in 2005, MGNREGS focused on building community assets such as roads, wells, ponds and check-dams. Among all the works done under MGNREGS, wells were the only individual assets getting created. But in 2016, the Jharkhand government expanded the scheme to create more individual assets. It introduced animal sheds, ponds (called dobhas), trench-cum-bunds in fields and mango farms. Article 15, Gully Boy, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Sonchiriya: Best Bollywood films of 2019 so far If the first six months of 2019 are to go by, the year has been a mix of hits and misses as far as Bollywood films are concerned. The first half saw a few great films, a couple of which may go down in the anvils of Hindi cinema. But there were some hidden gems that did not perform well at the box office but were worthy of applause anyway. Understanding mental illness: The balance between community support and personal growth Most people in this country don’t have access to therapy or support groups or online communities. They suffer alone and face stigma and violence from family and social circles. And the ones who need therapy the most, i.e. the ones who face systemic oppression, are the least likely to be able to access it or afford it. Therapy is horribly expensive in this country (except for a few affordable therapists who are heroes), and while this is to some extent understandable because therapists sacrifice their mental health for ours, some of the higher rates seem preposterously inflated. As Punjab's groundwater levels drop alarmingly, farmers confront desperate times ahead A recent draft report by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), the central government’s groundwater monitoring agency, has warned of a dystopian future for Punjab. At the current rate of extraction of its underground water resources, Punjab will soon be a desert state.