The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'The administration will come to a standstill because the governor will not cooperate with the finance minister.'
Here's a look at just some of the bigwigs who took the anti-Covid jab.
'Adani can attract vessels at a much lower cost to Vizhinjam as he has the financial muscle to do so.'
'He will go to any extent, and he will have the full support of the Union government as they may not like a Left government to continue here.'
The Indian Medical Association states that cases are likely to rise further before coming down in Kerala as about 50 per cent of its population is still susceptible to the virus.
Despite making immense contributions in the field of science, a Nobel prize eluded him; though he was nominated for it nine times.
A person who returned to Kerala from abroad and was hospitalised after showing signs of monkeypox tested positive for the disease, state Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday.
Senior AICC member and former Union minister K V Thomas, who has been at loggerheads with the party's state leadership, on Wednesday said he would campaign for the ruling Left Democratic Front candidate Jo Joseph in the upcoming by-poll in the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency, but reiterated that he would not quit the Congress.
Besides vice president N A Harris, treasurer Ajay Kipa, all other newly elected executive committee members, and the six eminent footballers co-opted in the committee, except Bhutia, were present in the meeting.
Payal Kumari, daughter of a migrant worker from Bihar, battled the odds including financial woes, to top the BA archaeology course at Kerala's Mahatma Gandhi University.
Given the politics behind it all, one possibility is for binding the governor to act according to the decisions of the state government and clarifying his position vis a vis bills and resolutions passed by the state assembly -- or, re-enacted if returned, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'My father is a postman. My mother is a homemaker. No one in my family had studied medicine.' 'I wanted to be the first doctor in my family so I could listen to people like me and help them feel better about themselves,' says Archana Vijayan, an MBBS student with a disability, who was initially denied admission into medical school, even after passing the NEET twice.
In her letter to her husband Sajeesh, Lini expressed her pain and anguish that she could not see him again.
The Supreme Court said on Monday it will ask the Kerala high court to consider afresh the anticipatory bail pleas of four people, including a former director general of police (DGP), in a case of alleged frame-up of scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage matter.
Easing restrictions, all private hospitals were on Tuesday allowed to give the vaccines if they adhere to the laid down norms, while the 9 am to 5 pm timing was also done away with.
'It is sad that Kerala had so many Covid patients which is primarily due to the mismanagement of the Left government.' 'The technical committee was full of CPI-M leaders who happen to have medical degrees with no experience in public health.' 'They were advising the CM and we are paying for those mistakes.'
"To make sure there isn't a Covid surge in the country, PM Modi has asked us to be careful. The government is also preparing if at the Covid cases increase. Today, mock drills are conducted across Covid hospitals in the country to make sure people get proper treatment," Mandaviya said.
'If the Kasturirangan Committee report is implemented, the mining and quarrying lobbies will flourish... It will be disastrous for the environment... There will be water shortage, there will be pollution. Finally, farmers will have to quit the area.' Dr V S Vijayan, a member of the Gadgil Committee, points out how the Kasturirangan Committee report will hit both people living in the Western Ghats as well as the plains.
Rediff.com's Vipin Vijayan, who is travelling with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Japan, reports from the significant bilateral meeting with Japanese Premier Shizo Abe in Tokyo.
'For the UDF, it will depend on how far Rahul Gandhi will succeed with the goodwill he has.' 'That will make a difference.'
Manmohan Singh's visit will have a special focus on giving boost to cooperation in defence, economic and energy, reports rediff.com's Vipin Vijayan who is travelling with the prime minister.
Security cooperation and enduring stability in Asia will be on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's mind during his visit to the two friendly nations, reports Rediff.com's Vipin VIjayan, who is part of the media contingent accompanying the PM
The hospital, where the AIADMK general secretary was admitted on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration, said she was "constantly being monitored".
Rediff.com's Vipin Vijayan, who will accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his upcoming trip to Japan and Thailand, gives his take on what to expect on the bilateral fronts from the two significant visits.
Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted on Monday to elect India's 15th president, choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu who is favoured to win the battle to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Regional films may have prevailed over the country, but regional leaders still have far mountains to climb to reach Delhi, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Kerala on Wednesday recorded 31,445 fresh cases, which is 68.11 per cent of the national total -- 46,164 -- of new infections in the last 24 hours.
'If you want to really grow, it has to be geometric progression like it happened at the Centre or Haryana or Tripura, where you made a quantum jump.' 'This is possible in Kerala provided we present a better alternative with a great leadership, but the current leadership is busy fixing each other.'
A fast track court in Chennai on Thursday sentenced orthosurgeon Dr Prakash to life imprisonment in a case relating to cyber pornography. Prakash allegedly took obscene pictures of his women patients and then uploaded them on the internet. FTC Judge R Radha passed the sentence under Section six of the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act and imposed a fine of Rs 1,25,000 on him. The other three accused -- Saravanan, Vijayan and Asir -- were awarded seven years RI.
'This has absolutely nothing to do with Kalburgi or anybody else, it only has to do with two words: Bihar elections. It's electioneering by other means, let's save the fig leaf of morality,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
The Modi government wants to have a smooth relationship with the DMK government.
Although the first woman to hold the position of chief economist at IMF, it would be wrong to see her appointment through the lens of gender
The triple lockdown in force from Monday would last for a week.
'Evidently, something has gone terribly wrong in the state of the Indian Union.' 'The rulers seem nervous that the pandemic is spinning out of control,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans.
In Jaipur, the combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, both second-line HIV drugs, was administered was administered on an elderly Italian couple undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at the SMS Hospital.
'We just cannot accept the interference of the government in matters concerning religion and faith.'
