Bad management, an exhausted government vigilance mechanism, delay in roping in private players, relaxing norms, and over-dependence on antigen tests may be the reason behind the surge, reports Shine Jacob.
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.
The counting of votes for the assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry would be held on Thursday morning with trends expected early.
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.
However, the percentage is likely to go up as the figures were not final.
Banks may become more cautious in extending loans, as more and more farmers may take loans, relying on the assurance that a debt relief commission will back them in the event of default.
The reshuffle in the Union Cabinet, carried out on Wednesday, appears to have some focus on assembly election-bound states like Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.
Though electoral verdicts have historically been accepted, even though grudgingly, by all parties, there has been a sharper edge to the questions being raised by Opposition parties this time over the polling process, including the Election Commission.
While members from Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland and Tripura are retiring on April 2, five members from Punjab are retiring on April 9.
'Unlike in other states, minorities form a significant number in Kerala. They have money and political power. In such a society, the emergence of a new communal power is not a healthy thing.'
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
The CPI-M leader was the chief minister of the state from 2000 to 2011.
Highly placed sources said late Tuesday night that the decision has been conveyed to 75-year-old Dikshit, who will succeed Nikhil Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commissioner.
The Model code of conduct has come into force immediately in the states.
Nemom was one of the segments where the BJP had pinned its hope the most in the present election to open its account in the assembly.
Among the long queues of voters, there were some famous faces too who exercised their franchise.
He's a serial entrepreneur, has delved into politics and a fitness freak.
'Those who are starving need not go to watch the match'
'What authority has a secular government to administer Hindu temples? When Hindu temples are ruled by secular governments, what religious freedom do Hindus have?'
The party has fielded Parvati Das for the by-election to the Bageshwar assembly seat in Uttarakhand and Lijinlal G for the Puthuppally assembly seat in Kerala.
Accusing the Left parties of destroying the progress of West Bengal and Kerala during their rule, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said they were on the "wrong side" of history and pursuing policies not relevant to the changing times.
The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties.
The meeting with Antony comes days after an open rebellion by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot loyalists on a possible leadership change in the state
Over the last five days, Modi visited all of south, held roadshows, made an aggressive bid for his party, and took on the rivals with full gusto, especially the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana that was in power for 10 years.
In the event that like in the 17th Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi again gets locked out of the House, the Congress needs a second-in-command who will keep the momentum going inside Parliament, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
While 67 per cent of India's population is 39 years old or younger, states are governed by chief ministers who are 70 or older.
The rival fronts were locked in a fierce combat in most of the constituencies making it a close contest in the state, which had alternately voted for the LDF and UDF every five years and where even a small swing could be decisive.
The poll panel has convened a press conference at 4.30 pm.
. Congress, on a high after clinching a deal with breakaway leader K Karunakaran's outfit, is contesting in 77 assembly segments, 17 less from last elections.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
As per the latest data available on the Election Commission's website, the BJP got 38.09 per cent votes while TMC which swept the assembly elections polled 47.97 per cent votes.
This is a brief background of the new Cabinet Ministers.
There are few leaders in the Opposition line up who can claim a path to party leadership like Sitaram Yechury and certainly, very few who blended that ascent through student politics with awareness about non-elite real India, urban India and liberal politics, as he did, notes Shyam G Menon.
Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal (94) became the country's oldest candidate to fight elections as he filed his nomination papers from Lambi on Monday.
Every passing day featuring parties within the INDIA alliance sniping at each other at state level is bad publicity for the alliance particularly given the proximity of the 2024 general elections, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Refusing to produce the accused Ameerul Islam before media, Sandhya said police wanted to build a strong case against him.
The announcement of assembly elections has deprived the Congress-led United Democratic Front the political mileage that it was zeroing in on the development programmes.
The IMD has warned of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions in parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh during the next five days.
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