At least one commentator felt that both the BJP's reach and popularity had been underestimated in Kerala. They have shown systematic gain; one that seems personality-neutral and therefore institutionalised, explains Shyam G Menon.
While two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, the death toll climbed to four on Thursday after the recovery of two more bodies from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Kangra district.
Instead of the special session earlier, the cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, decided to recommend to the Governor to convene the 21st session of the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly on December 31 to discuss the farmers' issue.
Shailaja Teacher, arguably the most famous Covid warrior in India, versus former student leader Shafi Parambil who defeated 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan in the last assembly election. Shyam G Menon reports from the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, which some feel is the most politically important contest in Kerala this election.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of 'linguistic terror' and plotting to delete Bengali voters from electoral rolls, vowing to protect voting rights.
The "uncommitted" Malayali voter today has hardly any political choice available. Even if he were to choose the Congress-led UDF in the polls on April 13, he would be acutely conscious that five years hence he would have no choice but to revert to the communist-led LDF to run the successor government, writes M K Bhadrakumar
Unlike previous days, the House even saw Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front members standing up from their seats and locking horns with opposition members, prompting the Speaker to warn both sides.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Wayanad in Kerala on June 12, party sources said on Monday.
The bitter political rivals -- the ruling LDF and the UDF -- close ranks in the state assembly to oppose the ban.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that governors cannot indefinitely delay giving assent to bills passed by state legislatures, setting a timeline of one to three months for their actions. The court said the governor must act "as soon as possible" and that failure to comply with the timeline will make their inaction subject to judicial review. The ruling comes as several opposition-ruled states have accused governors of delaying assent to bills passed by their assemblies.
Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan on Tuesday landed in trouble for his harsh remarks against the Constitution, triggering a huge political row in the state with the opposition demanding for his sacking, but the Left leader later expressed regret and claimed news reports in this connection were 'distorted'.
Like his father Karunanidhi and AIADMK rivals MGR and Jayalalithaa, Stalin would like to confine his real political work to Tamil Nadu, and not want to take after the late Congress leader K Kamaraj and take up a national role, even if to create greater political space for son Udhayanidhi, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kerala Chief Minister and veteran Marxist leader Pinarayi Vijayan intensified his attack on the Congress, alleging that its general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is contesting the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election with the backing of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
He was trolled during the Lok Sabha poll campaign, but despite the tactics by his rivals, action hero Suresh Gopi rose to national stardom in cinema style on June 4, winning the Thrissur seat on a BJP ticket and scripting history for the saffron party in Kerala.
Arivandakshan's arrest is the first of a political person in the alleged scam in which several political functionaries of the CPM are under scanner, they said.
Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
By 10 am, Rakshit N Jagdale is already deep into the rhythm of the day, which promises to be a carousel of meetings, calls, and strategic decisions. As managing director of Amrut Distilleries, he balances ritual and ambition, tradition and transformation, like many other legacy players in India's alcoholic beverages sector who are staring at a rosy future.
The opposition also made it clear that they have taken over the state-wide protest against SilverLine and would continue the agitation till the government withdraws from the initiative which they termed as "destructive" for the southern state.
The other three crore -- nearly 40 percent -- will have to provide one of the 11 listed documents to establish their place or date of birth.
The Kerala police on Thursday launched an investigation into an alleged social media campaign against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Facebook post requesting help for the people affected by the landslides in Wayanad district. The campaign was aimed at motivating people to reject the CM's appeal for disaster relief, it said.
'It is not because of any threats or pressure by anyone.'
CM Pinarayi Vijayan rejected BJP's criticism against the resolution demanding scrapping of the CAA. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had hit out at Kerala government, saying Vijayan should seek 'better legal advise'.
The political and ideological differences between the Congress and Shashi Tharoor is no longer a matter of whispers.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
If Kerala wants to sustain its room for independent thinking and talk back to Delhi when needed, it should put its finances in order. Or - if one takes the North East example - Kerala's political posturing may end up commensurate with its financial dependence on others, suggests Shyam G Menon.
Gopi defeated Communist Party of India leader VS Sunilkumar in an exciting fight.
The CBI has significantly increased the rate of fugitive repatriation, bringing back 134 individuals in the last five years, doubling the number from the previous decade. This success is attributed to enhanced diplomatic efforts, technological advancements, and improved coordination with Interpol.
Election Commission officials report finding a large number of illegal migrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar during a review of Bihar's voters' list. Measures are being taken to exclude them from the final electoral roll.
The humiliating rebuff given to the power brokers in Delhi in Kerala's local body election carries a big message: Malayalis thoroughly disapprove of the Modi government's shenanigans to misuse central agencies to destabilise a genuinely popular state government, notes M K Bhadrakumar.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan on Sunday said the UDF will take part in all the rehabilitation efforts and work towards restoring normalcy in the lives of the survivors.
Training his guns directly at the Kerala Chief Minister and the Left wing Students Federation of India, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday claimed that his car was 'attacked' by Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Congress in Kerala on Friday approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the decision of Doordarshan to telecast the controversial movie The Kerala Story, saying it was a 'tacit effort' to divide society on religious grounds to further the electoral prospects of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai spoke about Dr. B R Ambedkar's views on the supremacy of the Constitution and the need for an independent judiciary.
'Secularism is the life of Kerala, and the BJP is trying to poison this atmosphere.'
The Web portal of the Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, published an article (withdrawn later) that the Christian community holds many acres of land, far more than Waqf property.'
Hoping to make its mark in Kerala, the BJP sewed up an alliance with the BDJS, the new party formed by SNDP, a powerful organisation of the backward Ezhava community.
After being informed about the test result, the couple went to the Nirmala Sishu Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram under the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to see the baby whom Anupama had last seen when he was just 3 days old.
While the BJP went back to the drawing board to recraft its political and governance outreach and regained momentum by notching up surprisingly big wins in a string of assembly polls, the burst of fresh optimism in the main opposition Congress and other INDIA bloc parties fizzled out.
