Away from the distraction of its new high-profile politics, Wayanad's worries seemed very down to earth, discovers Shyam G Menon.
Shobha Warrier accompanies Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on the campaign trail.
The LDF lost Kochi and Thrissur corporations but managed to retain power with a wafer-thin margin in Thiruvananthapuram and held sway over Kollam city civic body with a comfortable majority.The UDF swept the municipalities in Malappuram, Kottayam and Idukki district and also put up an impressive performance in Ernakulam, Wayanad and Kasargode.
It comes a day after party chief Sonia Gandhi proposed, at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the formation of a group to assess the party's losses in Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry.
The party president also said that India's self-confidence, pride and scale of ambition have grown manifold in three years.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged party leaders in Kerala to shed their differences and fight the coming assembly polls unitedly
The HC noted that there is no reasonable ground to stay the conviction.
Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani resigned on Tuesday night after pressure mounted on him from the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front to quit.
The first bench refused to restrain the media, both electronic and print, from publishing the oral observations of the judges relating the role of EC in holding elections to four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry in the country during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pinarayi is exploring the potentials of 'socialism with Indian characteristics'. The next five years under Pinarayi's watch will be a transformative period for Kerala's development, observes M K Bhadrakumar.
The Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement had met both Chief Minister Palaniswami and Stalin to seek their intervention in lifting the ban on toddy-tapping and had submitted petitions, but there it remained. So the matter is being taken to the people's court.
Opposition leaders believe this entire plan has been put in place to ensure that Mamata Banerjee is kept out of office in West Bengal.
With an eye on assembly elections in Kerala, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mounted an attack on the Communist Party of India-Marxist in its stronghold, accusing it of indulging in "politics of violence" on Monday.
In the normal course, a high turnout reflects anti-incumbency but there is no correlation between high turnout and advantage to the National Democratic Alliance, says Dharmendra Kumar Singh.
The total income of the 87-year-old leader, who entered the fray from Malampuzha segment on Thursday, was shown as Rs 3,43,994 as per the income tax returns filed for 2009-10.
Tandon, who reviewed the situation in Kerala and elicited views of major political parties, said the state government had suggested two-phase polling for Kerala.
The incident of two Italian marines allegedly shooting dead two Indian fishermen off Kerala's coast in February and the subsequent legal and diplomatic issues made headlines throughout 2012, which also saw many developments on the state's political arena.
Upholding principles was a luxury when there were charismatic leaders capable of winning elections without stooping low to indulge in identity politics, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Gehlot told Congress MLAs that they will be asked to come to New Delhi if he decides to file his nomination.
The 52-year-old Congress leader reached Surat in the afternoon via a scheduled commercial flight along with sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and proceeded to the sessions court.
He said his party will continue to fight the "worst sentiments" the prime minister represents.
It is a mixed bag for the Congress in the upcoming elections to five state assemblies, says a pre-election survey of the 5 assemblies commissioned by the party.
The Left's decline will adversely change the complexion of Indian politics by pushing its centre of gravity further to the right. This would be tragic, says Praful Bidwai.
Will acting LG Soundararajan invite N Rangaswamy to form a government or recommend President's rule, so close to the assembly election, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kerala Chief Minister and Communist Party of India-Marxist veteran V S Achuthanandan filed nomination for contesting the assembly elections from his sitting seat Malampuzha in Palakkad district on Thursday. Achuthanandan filed his papers before joint registrar (co-operatives) A N Pradeepraj, who is the returning officer for the segment.
The Madras high court on Monday came down hard on the Election Commission and called it the "the most irresponsible institution" for the alleged spread of the second wave of Covid-19 in the country.
Communist Party of India-Marxist stalwart and Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, the star campaigner for the Left Democratic Front in the April 13 Assembly polls, on Wednesday said he would not campaign for Left Front candidates in West Bengal.
Assam may throw up a hung assembly with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling Congress there engaged in a neck and neck fight while Left Democratic Front could oust the Congress-led alliance in Kerala, an opinion poll has projected.
He also rejected queries on whether a "cleansing act" was going on in the universities.
Today, with the Lok Sabha polls only months away, any inter-state dispute over the Cauvery water dispute has the potential to take more political turns than otherwise, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a boost to the United Democratic Front ahead of assembly polls in Kerala next year, the Congress candidate K S Sabarinadhan on Tuesday won the Aruvikkara assembly by-poll by a margin of 10,128 votes defeating his nearest rival M Vijayakumar of the Opposition Left Democratic Front.
Achuthanandan, who is seeking re-election from Malampuzha in Palakkad district, said the UDF did not implement any of the promises it made in its manifesto in 2001.
It is for the first time that Kerala is having multi-phased elections.
Referring to the polling for the first phase of elections, Yogi said that the time for a "big decision" has come.
The MLA appeared before the court of additional sessions judge RP Mogera and filed a 30-page objection to the former Congress president's plea for staying his conviction, his lawyer Ketan Reshamwala said.
The Popular Front of India (PFI), banned recently by the government for alleged terrorist links and spreading communal hatred, has a "well-structured and organised" presence in the Gulf countries for raising and mobilising funds, the Enforcement Directorate said on Monday after a local court took cognisance of its latest charge sheet filed against three PFI office-bearers.
'I was very much aware of what was coming, but not to this extent.' 'If I had expressed what I felt, our campaign would have been in trouble.'
Petrol price on Monday neared Rs 100-a-litre mark in the national capital after the rate was hiked yet again. Petrol price was increased by 35 paise per litre while there was no change in diesel rates, according to a price notification from state-owned fuel retailers. In Delhi, the petrol price soared to Rs 99.86 per litre. Diesel rates were unchanged at Rs 89.36.
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.
If the BJP or even the regional parties delude themselves that they are going to win the 2019 Lok Sabha election, then they are over-interpreting the assembly election results, says Kumar Ketkar.
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