'It is our aim to capture power and rule in Kerala. We may not be able to achieve our target in one attempt.' 'By just hammering once, you will not be able to break a rock; you need to hammer the rock several times.'
The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front to step up pressure on the Centre for imposing a nation-wide ban on endosulfan pesticide hit normal life across Kerala on Friday.
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.
With barely a month left for Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, both the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and Congress-spearheaded United Democratic Front opposition, are yet to start their election campaigns in the state following issues related to seat-sharing and selection of candidates.
Both LDF and UDF are finding it hard to set their houses in order.
The home minister said the guilty will be brought to book.
'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.'
The Bahujan Samaj Party will contest in all the 140 assembly seats in Kerala in the forthcoming elections, scheduled to be held on April 13. Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, Gafoor Puthuppadi, general secretary, BSP Kerala unit, alleged that both the ruling Communist part of India-Marxist led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led opposition United Democratic Front were anti-development, and had betrayed people's expectations.
As voters queued up in Kerala to cast their ballot in the assembly polls on Wednesday, Union defence minister and senior Congress leader AK Antony reiterated that the United Democratic Front will come to power in the state with a thumping majority.
Unsubstantiated and illogical opinions, delivered freely from within or abroad, could not destroy the democratic nature of the country, he added.
Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy was sworn in as the 21st chief minister of Kerala on Wednesday at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram. Along with Chandy, six floor leaders of the United Democratic Front coalition were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor R S Gavai at the lawns of the Raj Bhavan.
Exigencies of electoral politics and individual ambitions often stoke family feuds and sibling rivalries.
After Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the Congress is caught in a seat sharing tangle with its alliance partners in Kerala, so far the only clear winning state for the ruling party at the Centre. Senior leader and union defence minister AK Antony has landed in Kerala and has begun discussions with alliance partners of the United Democratic Front, on how best to resolve contrary claims.
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'.
Deriving from Narendra Modi's continuing charisma, the proposed scheme, if and when implemented, can cut both ways. That is to say, if Modi can win, he can lose. Or, someone else in his place, later on, could lose as much as he could win in his time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
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 police's Crime Branch wing registered a criminal case against Thomas for penning his bare-all autobiography Sravukalkkoppam Neenthumbol (Swimming With Sharks) without seeking prior permission from the higher-ups.
In Kerala, the use of black ranges from such convenience to strictures by community and religion to fashion and personal choice. One would have to be really insecure or too fond of the well settled life to see black solely as a badge of protest, points out Shyam G Menon.
The Kerala government on Thursday affirmed its commitment to build a new dam at Mullaperiyar in place of the 116-year old structure, saying its resolve to do so is based on the principle of 'water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala'. Governor H R Bhardwaj, in his address to the legislative assembly to mark the start of the budget session, made the comments.
In a boost to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala on Wednesday retained the Piravom assembly seat with its candidate Anoop Jacob winning by a margin of 12,070 votes. While Anoop Jacob (Kerala Congress-Jacob), a constituent of the UDF, garnered 82,756 votes, Left Democratic Front's S M J Jacob got 70,686 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party's K R Rajagopal polled 3241 votes. There were nine candidates in the fray.
'The idea of aligning with different political parties -- parties that are relevant at a particular period -- is opportunistic and unacceptable.'
The arrest came after the Kerala High Court rejected an anticipatory bail plea moved by Sufiya. Sufiya was named as the 10th accused by the Kerala Police recently after the interrogation of suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Thadiyantavida Naseer, who was picked up by the Bangladesh Rifles along with an associate and handed over to Indian security agencies.
The former Delhi chief minister said her conscience is clear and she is not scared of anyone.
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.
'Can you believe Ashok Chavan was with me in the senior leaders' meeting one day, and next day morning, he switched sides!'
This is the third minister in the Vijayan cabinet to resign after the LDF government came to power in May 2016.
Sivadasan noted that the post of the governor is being misused by the central government to forward its agenda in the states.
C V Ananda Bose was on Thursday appointed as the new governor of West Bengal, a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
The 30-year-old Democrat ran a spirited race in the 7th Congressional District in New Jersey, which is a Republican bastion.
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.
'How come the BJP won even in the Muslim belt? I am 100% sure that the BJP would not win in the Muslim belt.'
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.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The government or the ruling party has indicated indirectly that you are not supposed to publish anything critical of the government or the senior functionaries of the government.'
'It is this fear that is behind all that has happened to Rahul Gandhi.'
The Kerala chief minister is killing our RSS workers who want to take this country forward, RSS functionary Kundan Chandravat said.
Security at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram has been stepped up after a caller from a Gulf country issued a threat to the life of Kerala Governor R S Gavai, police said on Monday.
Affectionately called 'Leader' by his admirers, Congress stalwart Kannoth Karunakaran was a master tactician who remained a 'King' in Kerala politics for decades and a political troubleshooter at the national level.
