Initial vote counting in the Kerala Assembly elections indicates a significant lead for the Congress-led UDF, suggesting a potential shift in power.
Kerala's Chief Minister-designate, V D Satheesan, has announced his new ministerial team, emphasising social and regional balance within the coalition. Senior leaders like Ramesh Chennithala and K Muraleedharan are set to be inducted, with Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan nominated as Speaker.
Here are glimpses of famous faces who got their fingers inked.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has voiced its support for V D Satheesan as the potential Chief Minister of Kerala if the Congress-led UDF alliance wins, drawing criticism from SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, who suggests this indicates the IUML would effectively rule the state.
Actor Vijay, president of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The ceremony included a selfie with Rahul Gandhi and a 360-degree video of the cheering crowd. Vijay's party achieved a historic debut, ending the duopoly of DMK and AIADMK.
As Vijay prepares for his next innings as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, he would do well to learn from the life lessons of NTR.
Telangana's newly appointed DGP C V Anand announced that the state police will implement measures to address cyber crimes, drug issues, and road accidents, involving district-level officials. He also mentioned reviewing the phone-tapping case linked to the previous BRS regime and prioritising rehabilitation programmes for surrendered Naxals.
The BJP is showing strong leads in West Bengal and Assam, while actor Vijay's party is making a significant debut in Tamil Nadu. The Congress is ahead in Kerala, offering some consolation amid the changing political landscape in the state elections.
Kerala's voters are sophisticated, educated, and unforgiving. They have once again made it clear that no government is entitled to remain in power. The Congress would do well to remember this, points out Ramesh Menon.
Unlike films that end with the underdog becoming winner and being sworn in at a public ceremony, Vijay's trial by fire is only about to begin, predicts Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
A devastating explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit in Thrissur, Kerala, has resulted in at least 13 fatalities and numerous injuries. The incident occurred as the unit was preparing crackers for the upcoming Thrissur Pooram festival.
Nasscom's current president Som Mittal's term expires in January. However, Chandrasekhar, expecting to get the necessary approvals from the government soon, will start work from next month to get familiar with the organisation.
Kerala's 2026 assembly election will see a three-cornered contest where religion and communalism have emerged as central themes for the first time, challenging the state's long-celebrated secular fabric.
A Delhi court has requested clarification from the Ministry of External Affairs regarding the extradition status of a former managing director of Bush Foods Overseas Pvt Ltd and his wife, who are residing in London, in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged Rs 750-crore bank loan fraud.
The Rajya Sabha elections saw several candidates elected unopposed, including Sharad Pawar and Ramdas Athawale, while Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana prepare for contested elections.
'The entire US ecosystem built over decades at the bases in the Gulf region, especially the UAE, costing trillions of dollars have been decimated, dealing a mortal blow to the US Central Command's war capability,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The trailer of the film, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Kamakhya Narain Singh, released on Tuesday and landed straight into controversy. It tracks the stories of three Hindu women from three different states going against their families to marry Muslim men and then being forced to convert.
The upcoming Hindi film 'The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond' is embroiled in controversy, similar to its predecessor, with accusations of hate propaganda and defenses of legitimate concern over religious conversion.
The Supreme Court refused to interfere with an order dismissing Jacqueline Fernandez's plea to quash an ECIR in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The Left government in Kerala has granted sanction to the state police to seek Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from the United States in the probe into a Facebook post allegedly made from the account of former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, following the twin bomb blasts at a Jehovah's Witnesses convention in Kalamassery that killed eight people on 29 October 2023.
The BRS party has suspended MLC K Kavitha due to her alleged involvement in anti-party activities, as announced by party officials.
The Congress-led UDF secured a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections, dealing a blow to the LDF, while the BJP gained significant ground, including winning control of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
'...as then it brings them closer to the complaints and grievances that the public faces.'
The Kerala BJP has contradicted the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's justification of the arrest of two Keralite Catholic nuns, stating they were not involved in human trafficking or forced conversion attempts and promising to help them.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Kerala police have registered another case against Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar for allegedly making statements that promote enmity between different groups through social media posts in connection with recent blasts at a convention centre in Kochi.
A 1970 Kerala-cadre IAS officer, Chandrasekhar has been revenue secretary in the Finance Ministry and ambassador and permanent representative at the World Trade Organisation.
'The nuns were subjected to abusive language and all types of mental torture.'
A special court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district granted bail to three persons, including two nuns from Kerala, arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Thursday said its two-day nationwide strike on March 24 and 25 will be observed as scheduled since discussions with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) over key demands failed to yield any positive outcome. In a meeting with the IBA, all UFBU constituents raised issues, including recruitment in all cadres and a five-day workweek.
'A man who brought about the greatest set of economic reforms in the country, who changed the course of Indian history, cannot be considered weak.' 'A man who fought for nuclear reforms even though his majority in Parliament was threatened, he cannot be considered weak.'
The ceremony, held at the famous St Peter's Basilica and attended by clergy and dignitaries from around the world, witnessed the induction of 21 new cardinals from various countries.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
Congress leader and chairperson of the Telangana State Women's Cooperative Development Corporation, B Shobha Rani, hit out at Reddy over his comments saying he insulted women with his disrespectful comments.
Even as the dust settles on one election, glory in Thiruvananthapuram has come with a new question on the horizon: Who will be UDF's candidate in the next Lok Sabha election given Shashi Tharoor has said 2024 would be his last? It isn't a vacancy that can be easily filled, points out Shyam G Menon.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti founder president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday resigned from his post owning moral responsibility for his party's debacle in the recent bypolls in Andhra Pradesh. Rao, whose party failed to retain even half of the seats it had vacated, sent his resignation letter to the party general secretary T Madhusudhanchary.
Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the government has asked Apple two questions: whether their devices are safe, and if so the reason for the alert was sent to the Opposition members.
Ramoji Rao, who created a sensation in the media industry in undivided Andhra Pradesh with the Eenadu newspaper and ETV group of channels, was a recipient of Padma Vibhushan.
In a strategic move, the BJP has welcomed prominent Christian figures like Anil K Antony, son of Congress stalwart AK Antony, and seasoned Kerala politician PC George, into its fold.
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