Firstpost Editor's Picks: Lok Sabha exit polls, Game of Thrones finale, Dutee Chand; today's must-read stories

Exit poll projections suggest Nitish Kumar could be in for a tough time as part of an NDA government Pollsters predicted that Bihar is among those states that will play a major role in BJP’s likely stellar performance for the second successive Lok Sabha election. When viewed in conjunction with the BJP’s performance in other states, if the actual verdict on 23 May matches high-range forecasts, it would be read as a personal success for Narendra Modi, the programmes he has initiated or rebranded and the ideology he espouses. This would also put JD(U) president Nitish Kumar in an awkward position because of his continued attempts to ideologically distinguish his party from the BJP. Sensex gains 1,422 points in single day as exit polls give investors just the right hint Indian stock markets registered impressive gains on Monday as major exit polls predicted a clear majority for Narendra Modi-led BJP/NDA in 2019 Parliament elections. On Monday, the benchmark index Sensex closed 1,421.90 points, or 3.75 percent higher at 39,352.67. Though the single-day gains on Tuesday weren’t as high as 18 May 2009, when the Sensex gained 2,100 points, the prospect of Modi’s return to power seems to have thrilled investors. Why? Well, the answer is simple. The stock market loves Modi over a Congress-led weak coalition government as a business-friendly leader that can push the reform juggernaut ahead. _Game of Thrones_ season 8 episode 6 review: An imperfect finale that still feels remarkably poignant Recent criticisms of Game of Thrones have dwelt on how the series has forgotten the dictum of “show, don’t tell”. It was a sad development for a production that previously had such rich symbology. But over episodes 5 and 6 of season 8, there has been a compelling visual statement made about Daenerys’ complete acceptance of her Dragon Queen persona. Dutee Chand's brave coming out opens up new avenues of discussions on homosexuality, bisexuality, queerness in sport Coming out in sport is still a relative rarity, especially in team sports, and while it now happens with increasing frequency in the West, in South Asia, it is still far less frequent to see an “out” sportsperson. Athlete Dutee Chand was able to take control of her coming out, unlike so many sportswomen in the past most crucially, Billie Jean King, who was forcibly ousted by a blackmailer. And seizing her own narrative is, as Dutee said, one of the most crucial parts of coming out in the first place. Enter Sultana's Reality: Exploring the relationship between women and books in India Enter Sultana’s Reality — an animated project, by Goa-based artist Afrah Shafiq — is a captivating Alice in Wonderland-style adventure exploring the relationship between women and books in India. Using gifs, music, videos, statistics, comics, and little hidden notes of history, she tells the stories of women who challenged societal conventions – there’s Kashibai Kanitkar, the first female Marathi novelist, Anandibai Joshi, the first Indian woman to get a degree in Western medicine, and Savitribai Phule, who started the first school for Indian girls in Maharashtra, among other revolutionary women.