The two-day Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo meeting, held at the party headquarters in Delhi, ended on Sunday. Politburo member and senior leader Sitaram Yechury, while briefing media persons, said that the party has called for a special central committee meeting on July 11 and 12 to discuss the factional split in the party's Kerala unit.However, sources said that the two-day meet has decided to take action against Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan.
The statement by the Communist Party of India man in the CPI(M)-led ministry has spurred widespread criticism against the V S Achuthanandan government.
It is for the first time that Kerala is having multi-phased elections.
'These atheist people wanted to finish the progress of Sabrimala temple devotees and now they are using this (the Supreme Court verdict) as a weapon to destroy the believers.'
The Kerala high court has held that politics has no role to play in the conduct of daily worship, temple festivals and ceremonies.
Kerala state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala has called for the resignation of the state Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan from the post following the defeat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist led left front in the local body elections.
The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala on Wednesday suffered a major jolt with the opposition United Democratic Front wresting two city corporations and dominating the race in muncipalities for which counting was taken up.
He also claimed that the people were asking are all the jobs under Kerala government reserved for cadres and the university jobs for powerful people in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Kerala high court has acquitted 13 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers in a case relating to the killing of a Communist Party of India-Marxist activist in Thiruvananthapuram in 2008, saying the prosecution had miserably failed to prove the incriminating circumstances against the accused.
Led by CPI-M stalwart, 87-year-old V S Achuthanandan, the LDF succeeded in staving off the anti-incumbency trend against the government, which was reflected in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and civic elections last year, in which the UDF had stolen march over the Left front.
With less than two weeks left for the April 13 assembly elections, the battle has warmed up for 30 seats in three southern districts of Kerala, seen crucial for both the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and Congress headed United Democratic Front.
Balakrishnan, who filed his nomination from Thalassery assembly constituency in Kannur district, declared that he has Rs 36.20 lakh worth assets and his wife Rs 40.45 lakh.
People who were present at the convention centre told media that the first blast occurred in the middle of a prayer.
The Kerala government has taken a serious view of an incident in which a Pakistan national allegedly violated visa rules and acted in an advertisement film shot at the high-security Info Park in Kochi in June.
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and state Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan were on Saturday suspended from the Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo over a war-of-words in public.
The issue of denial of permission to Mansiya V P to perform Bharatanatyam at Koodalmanikyam temple, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district has become a matter of debate in the state.
As rescue operations in the landslide-hit areas of this north Kerala district entered fifth day, rescuers unearthed more bodies and body parts, taking the death toll to 215, with around 206 people still reported missing.
Modi claimed that some other parties were also helping the opposition alliance from behind but any vote for them will take Tripura several years backward.
Kerala has never witnessed such a close call in assembly elections in its history, as it did this year. It was indeed a photo finish between the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the Communist party of India-Marxist led Left Democratic Front today. It was like a thrilling Twenty20 match with one batsman pitching in with a spectacular performance. The LDF has managed to win as many as 68 seats, against 72 of the UDF, only because of the goodwill of V S Achuthanandan.
The court granted a one-month stay on the operation of the judgment to enable Thomas to file an appeal.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the violence during the Popular Front of India (PFI)-sponsored hartal in his state was 'pre-meditated' and assured strict action against the culprits while his Assam counterpart Hemanta Biswas Sarma batted for banning the Islamist outfit, whom the National Investigation Agency (NIA) accused of encouraging youth to join terrorist groups including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
A college student and a Communist Party of India-Marxist member, she was administered the oath of office by collector Navjot Khosa at the corporation council hall.
Seeking the mandate for the 10th time after nine wins in a row is something rare in the slippery terrain of Kerala politics. But not so in the case of Congress's chief ministerial probable Oommen Chandy, who is back in the fray in his pocket borough Puthupally.
During the election campaign, Nehru's entourage was welcomed with a sea of Congress flags. However when they reached this particular spot, a communist dominated area, he saw red flags everywhere, prompting him to ask whether it was 'China junction'.
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
As Kerala is set to go for assembly polls on April 13, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front have to race against time as they are yet to finalise the seat-sharing exercise among partners and each component to work out the list of their contestants for before the filing of nominations begin on March 19.
Communist Party of India-Marxist Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan will be the next Chief Minister of Kerala.
Congress candidate R Selvaraj defeated the CPI-M's F Lawrence by a comfortable margin of 6,334 votes in the June 4 bypoll whose outcome has come as a morale-booster to the one-year old Oommen Chandy ministry. Selvaraj had resigned as CPI-M member of the assembly in March this year citing serious differences with the party leadership, causing the byelection, before joining Congress
'There will be no compromise with someone who has betrayed the party at this stage even if she is my sister,' Congress MP K Muraleedharan told reporters.
The LDF is also maintaining its lead in village and block panchayats from where results have begun to pour in.
He, however, made it clear that a sudden change cannot be expected as it was a "sensitive matter" related to an age-old custom and tradition.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kerala secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, arraigned as an accused in a graft case relating to awarding of contract to a Canadian firm during his tenure as Power Minister in 1998, was on Wednesday granted bail by a CBI special court in Kochi.
Criticism against the August 12 order continued to pour in from the state and various parts of the country with National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma and senior Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Brinda Karat strongly condemning the sessions court judge's observation.
Don't get amused if officials of a local village panchayat in Palakkad, Kerala, are seen politely persuading visitors to call them by their name or designation instead of usual salutations like 'sir' or 'madam'.
Lalu Prasad said factors like size, workload, traffic other operative requirements, and not regional considerations, determine the creation of new railway zones.
In a stunning electoral victory, the ruling Communist Party if India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), rode back to power in Kerala winning 99 of the 140 seats, bucking the over four decade long trend of Communists and Congress-led United Democratic Front coming to power alternatively.
There are 13 new faces, including two women, in the cabinet. Five ministers had held positions in previous LDF ministries.
Even as political pressure was building against Ranjith, actor Siddique quit as the general secretary of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) amid voices from within his fraternity seeking his resignation.
