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.
Opposition leaders believe this entire plan has been put in place to ensure that Mamata Banerjee is kept out of office in West Bengal.
A sizeable number of MLAs from across state assemblies cross-voted in support of President-elect Droupadi Murmu, defying their parties' stated support to Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, sources said on Thursday.
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.
Its efforts to establish itself in politically important North India has not yielded much results till date. But now, in a calculated bid to expand beyond Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura, the CPI(M) has picked up Rajasthan as its target area. The party will field as many as 34 candidates in the forthcoming Assembly elections there. The 200-seat strong state Assembly is currently ruled by the BJP.
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.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the famed Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple at Guruvayur in Kerala on Monday. This is Modi's first trip to South India after the Bharatiya Janata Party swept the Gujarat assembly elections.
Our political history tells us this has never worked. A united Opposition does work in some specific, limited situations, especially in the states. But never as some brilliant pan-national collection of diverse interests with no ideological or political core, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
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.
'What do you think the Congress is today?' 'Is it a political party heading for a life-and-death battle?' 'Or an NGO, just doing its thing and hoping it will improve the state of the world?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'Slaughter of cows will be opposed by all parties in UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, etc while it is different in Kerala, Goa and the north east.' 'Every national party adapts and take a view on various issues depending on the local situation and the feelings of the local people.' 'So, the Kerala BJP will look at each issue from the Kerala perspective, and not that of UP.'
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.
A local leader of Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction confirmed they painted the buses.
Saseendran said his resignation should not be seen as an acceptance of guilt.
The Communist Party of India - Marxist, the lead partner in the Left Democratic Front in Kerala has re-nominated 54 sitting members, including Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and eight ministers. But it has also included 30 new names as candidates for the April 13 elections to the state assembly. The 91-member list also includes 10 women and seven independents. The party nominated T K Gangadharan as the candidate for Mahe segment in Puducherry.
Chief ministers of 3 Congress-ruled states, other national and state party leaders are also likely to accompany Rahul to the court.
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.
'Slightly more than 50 per cent of all Keralites are Hindus. If we can unite as many as we can, we can create a huge difference in the political scene in Kerala.'
The EC has said it amounts to trying to better prospects in the polls.
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.
The close assembly election results in Kerala -- where the CPM is the single largest party but won't form the government -- is thanks only to VS's line, which insists that the primary obligation of the party is not merely toward electoral politics but toward the vast segments of dispossessed, marginalised, humiliated, impoverished people, says MK Bhadrakumar
'The BJP can kill two birds with one stone by wresting back control of the message; and the steps are fairly obvious. Once the media is neutral, there is a level playing field,' argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
'The feeling is that Rajinikanth is pro-Modi than anti-Modi.'
The court of Justice Hemant Prachchhak, however, said no interim protection can be granted at this stage.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of assembly elections.
Away from the distraction of its new high-profile politics, Wayanad's worries seemed very down to earth, discovers Shyam G Menon.
Trinamool Congress will go it alone in next month's Assembly election in West Bengal, party supremo Mamata Banerjee on Friday said and declared the list of TMC candidates which included sports personalities, actors and journalists.
The resolution praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and accused the opposition of 'opportunism' and a mindset of 'extreme hate'.
The split in the Congress in the state caused by K Karunakaran has also helped LDF maintain its winning spree.
At least eight MLAs of the opposition Congress in BJP-ruled Gujarat appeared to have voted for Kovind.
Referring to the polling for the first phase of elections, Yogi said that the time for a "big decision" has come.
Gehlot told Congress MLAs that they will be asked to come to New Delhi if he decides to file his nomination.
Ruling Congress-led UDF in Kerala on Saturday suffered a setback in the civic elections, billed as the semifinal ahead of next year's assembly polls, as CPI-M-led LDF won a majority of local bodies while the BJP made inroads improving its performance.
Aditi Phadnis and Archis Mohan take a state by state takedown of the party's chances in the poll-bound states.
Ramesh Chennithala appointed KPCC president.
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.
The SP hopes to rope in Telugu Desam Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazagam and the Nationalist Congress Party in the proposed front.
Counting of votes for the high stakes assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry began on Thursday morning with trends expected to be available by 11am.
In the unlikely event of the BJP-NDA losing all five states going to the polls in February-March, the Presidential electoral college numbers could be significantly altered, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
