Kerala Chief Minister and senior Communist Party of India - Marxist leader V S Achuthanandan will be removed from the party's politburo and the central committee, said sources in New Delhi. The octogenarian leader, who is currently in New Delhi, will leave for Kerala early on Sunday morning, said sources.Though some leaders from West Bengal had voiced their support for Achuthanandan, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat remained firm on taking action against the Kerala CM.
More screenings are expected to take place in some colleges in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram later Tuesday, a senior police officer said.
While the Kerala chief minister has not yet shown any sign of accepting the party's line on the SNC Lavalin corruption case -- where Vijayan has been termed an accused by the CBI -- the politburo will try to maintain a balance between the two factions in a last-ditch effort.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, where Rahul Gandhi won for the second time in a row, comprises three assembly constituencies each in the tribal district of Wayanad and the Muslim-dominated Malappuram, as well as one in Kozhikode district where Christians hold a significant vote base.
Remith, who suffered severe injuries on his head and neck in the attack that happened at 10.30 am, died on the way to hospital, police said.
The LDF unanimously decided not to have NCP in the front considering the "changed political climate" in that party after its merger with DIC-K on November 12, front convener Vaikom Viswan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
Local residents have stressed that land acquisition for rehabilitation must be completed promptly, as it has been delayed after estate owners challenged it in the Kerala high court.
Despite their opposition based on ideology, both the political Right and the political Left possess similar behaviour, observes Shyam G Menon.
Eight sitting Members of Legislative Assembly including two ministers and the deputy speaker do not figure in the first list of candidates released by the Communist Party of India for the April 13 Kerala assembly polls.Revenue Minister K P Rajendran, Forest Minister Binoy Viswom and Deputy Speaker Jose Baby missed out following the party's decision not to field MLAs who have served two terms, party sources said.
Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan on Wednesday announced his resignation amidst mounting criticism from various quarters, including the Opposition, over his controversial remarks against the Constitution recently.
Security at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram has been stepped up after a caller from a Gulf country issued a threat to the life of Kerala Governor R S Gavai, police said on Monday.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front on Sunday retained the Koothuparamba and Azhikode assembly seats in Kerala thrashing its United Democratic Front rivals by huge margins.
Along with them, ex-BJP lawmaker Ram Shakal took the oath.
Leading the party in the state since 1998, the re-election of the 67-year-old leader again demonstrated his hold on CPI(M), which often in the past passed through grim phases of factional trend involving him and former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan.
Chief ministers of three Congress-ruled states -- Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana's Revanth Reddy -- have announced they will not attend the NITI Aayog meeting over alleged bias against their states in the Union Budget.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist central committee considered a report submitted by the polit bureau on the prevailing situation in Kerala and party related matters there, a statement released by the party said.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday dismissed reports that it had decided to initiate disciplinary action against Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan for approaching the Centre for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the lottery issue without taking the party leadership into confidence.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Friday, recalled "an old name of Rahul Gandhi" to attack the Congress leader, who a day earlier had wondered why the Marxist veteran was not jailed by the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre, unlike two other chief ministers of Opposition-ruled states.
According to the CPI-M, Aleida, who arrived in Chennai from Thiruvananthapuram, is likely to attend a party meeting on Tuesday and will participate in a public reception on Wednesday.
The ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala on Monday finalised the seat-sharing exercise among its constituents for all 140 assembly segments for the April 13 polls with lead partner Communist Party of India-Marxist getting the lion's share of 93.
Leaders from other state units are coming to VS's aid ahead of the party's crucial Central Committee meeting even as some ministers of his Cabinet have refused to work with him.
Security was stepped up in politically-volatile areas of north Kerala. Two companies of Central Rapid Action Force had been requisitioned by the state government for deployment in Kannur to meet any eventuality, police said.
Vinod Panicker, a known Poorakali-Marathukali artist for the last 37 years, alleged that the management of some local temples informed him that he could not perform the traditional artform as he lives in the same house where his non-Hindu daughter-in-law lives.
Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, Student Federation of India, the students wing of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist, and others have strongly criticised the classes.
A special session of the Kerala Assembly is being convened on Wednesday to discuss the three contentious central farm laws and pass a resolution against the acts, whose repeal is being insisted by farmers agitating at the borders of Delhi for nearly a month.
Arun Jaitley will visit Kerala on Sunday. The same day, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam will discuss law and order with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Regarding Satheesan, he said that "if we see each other at the venue, then we will see".
Though several exit polls have painted a dismal picture about the electoral fate of the Left Front in West Bengal and Kerala -- two states ruled by the Communist Party of India - Marxist led combine -- the top brass of the party is putting up a brave front. Top Left Front leaders have claimed that the party will retain power in both states despite heavy odds. The United Democratic Front in Kerala, led by the Congress, is locked in a bitter battle with the Left parties.
The IUML is a major ally of the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala and an influential political party among the Muslim community.
BJP activist Remith was hacked to death in the home town of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday.
The People's Democratic Party of Abdul Nasser Madhani will work for the success of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front in the coming Assembly elections in Kerala.
Deepening the image crisis that has afflicted Communist Party of India-Marxist in Kerala, police on Monday registered a murder case against the party's Idukki district secretary M M Mani for his controversial speech stating that the party had eliminated political enemies in the past.
Born in a Hindu family as Akhila Asokan, the woman converted to Islam and adopted the name 'Hadiya' after entering into wedlock with a Muslim man Shefin Jahan in 2016.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of 26 opposition parties in Bengaluru, Kharge said, "This was a very important meeting to save democracy and the Constitution in the interest of the people of the country."
The rivalry between party veteran V S Achuthanandan and Communist Party of India-Marxist Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan appears to be heading to a flashpoint, pushing the party to its worst crisis in recent times.
The 84-year-old Marxist veteran also likened the party's action on Saturday to suspend him and state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan to 'punishing children when they commit mistakes'.
Even as the dust settles on one election, glory in Thiruvananthapuram has come with a new question on the horizon: Who will be UDF's candidate in the next Lok Sabha election given Shashi Tharoor has said 2024 would be his last? It isn't a vacancy that can be easily filled, points out Shyam G Menon.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
The recently held presidential election and the historic victory of Droupadi Murmu are likely to create political ripples in Kerala as the NDA candidate received an unexpected vote from the southern state.
