On April 3, Gandhi's roadshow, on the way to filing his nomination in Wayanad was visibly different from that of 2019 in the hill constituency when the green flags of ally IUML outnumbered the Congress's in the crowd. There were no flags of any party or affiliated organisations.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor welcomed the revival of long-stalled India-UK FTA negotiations, posting a selfie with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and the UK's Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds. Tharoor's post comes amid a row over his recent article praising the Kerala government's investment climate, which drew criticism from some Congress leaders.
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.
Prominent celebrity losers include national award-winning actor Suresh Gopi, comedian Dharmajan Bolgatty, actress Priyanka Anoop, actor-anchor Krishnakumar and television serial actor Vivek Gopan.
His remarks came after the Kerala assembly on Tuesday passed the Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025, which marks a break from the Communist Party of India Marxist-led government's long-standing opposition to the privatisation of education.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Centre had sent multiple advance warnings to the Kerala government about possible floods and landslides in the state, starting as early as July 23, and nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were rushed to the state the same day.
'The presence of Rahul Gandhi and his campaigning for the Congress will make a general difference, but whether it will make a saving difference, not sure.'
The Web portal of the Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, published an article (withdrawn later) that the Christian community holds many acres of land, far more than Waqf property.'
On a day a sexual abuse case was registered against actor Siddique based on a complaint by a woman actor, the Left government appears to have adopted a cautious approach in the case of MLA Mukesh, with two ministers indicating that further action hinges on the findings of the probe by the special police team.
Tension gripped Kerala as an unidentified person allegedly hurled an explosive substance at the state headquarters of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday night.
The BJP scripted history by opening its account in the state assembly.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have united in their demands, calling for the immediate resignation and arrest of P P Divya, a Communist Party of India-Marxist leader and district panchayat president, who leveled graft accusations against ADM Naveen Babu at his send-off function organised by colleagues at the Kannur district collectorate.
The ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala on Monday finalised the seat-sharing exercise among its constituents for all 140 assembly segments for the April 13 polls with lead partner Communist Party of India-Marxist getting the lion's share of 93.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was surging ahead in two southern states -- Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka -- while the respective blocs led by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and Congress in Kerala were on their way for another excellent show, going by the latest trends emerging from the counting of voted polled in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
The exit polls on Saturday predicted the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance winning most of the seats in Congress-ruled Karnataka in the Lok Sabha elections and the Congress not putting up a good show.
The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress commenced in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, with interim coordinator Prakash Karat emphasizing the need for Left unity to combat "Hindutva neo-fascism." He criticized the BJP-RSS government, accusing it of representing a "Hindutva-corporate nexus" and displaying "neo-fascist characteristics." Other Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, echoed calls for unity and condemned the current political climate in India.
The shift toward a staunchly secular identity will help Congress to rebuild its trust and confidence with the minority communities, especially Muslim voters. Arguably, this is where the Congress' future also lies in national politics, observes M K Bhadrakumar.
Stepping up the campaign for a new dam at Mullaperiyar, State Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) chief K M Mani is observing a day-long fast at Chappath in Mullaperiyar on Monday while his colleague and Water Resources Minister P J Joseph is fasting in New Delhi.
The Opposition Congress alleged that the blast, which occurred around 1 am according to the police, happened during the manufacturing of country-made bombs by some CPI-M supporters.
'There will be no compromise with someone who has betrayed the party at this stage even if she is my sister,' Congress MP K Muraleedharan told reporters.
Leading Malayalam film actress Shweta Menon, who was allegedly molested by Congress Member of Parliament N Peethambara Kurup at the President's Boat race event at Kollam two days ago, on Sunday gave her statement on the incident to police.
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.
'In Parliament, he was the one person who stood for democracy and secularism even when the principal Opposition party was not very forthright in taking on the BJP and RSS.'
Announcing candidates for the remaining four seats in Kerala, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded its state chief K Surendran in the high-profile Wayanad constituency against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
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.
The Kerala High Court has ordered a further probe into an allegation that state Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian insulted the Constitution in a speech in July 2022. The court found that Cherian's words, including 'ideal Constitution to loot the people', and the use of certain Malayalam terms, could be interpreted as disrespectful to the Constitution. The court also criticized the initial investigation, finding it insufficient and biased, and directed the State Crime Branch to conduct the further probe.
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.
Hours after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament, 50 individuals embroiled in land disputes in Kerala's Munambam joined the BJP, hoping for a resolution to their claims. The residents, who have been protesting for 174 days, allege that the Waqf Board is claiming ownership of their properties. BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar assured them of the party's support and a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express gratitude. The BJP capitalized on the Catholic Church's support for the legislation, accusing the Congress and the Left of appeasement politics. The opposition, however, questioned the impact of the bill on the Munambam issue.
Kerala's election discourse operates surreptitiously. Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.
Hit by the "bar bribe controversy", the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in Kerala on Sunday announced a vigilance probe into the allegation by bar owners that state Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) supremo K M Mani had demanded a hefty sum for favourable decisions.
The complaint states that journalists blocked his way at the guest house, the source said without elaborating.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
Group rivalry in the Kerala Congress unit has intensified further as the political mission of chief minister Oommen Chandy to induct Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ramesh Chennithala into the cabinet has failed.
This Women's Day Week, we celebrate the groundbreaking achievements of Justice Anna Chandy, Justice M Fathima Beevi and Justice Leila Seth.
The Election Commission has said it will allow suspected fake voters to cast their ballots in the Palakkad assembly by-poll, but will take action against them later. The CPI(M), Congress, and BJP have accused each other of enrolling fake voters. The by-poll is scheduled for November 20.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday detained Bahubali Shah, one of the owners of the leading Gujarati newspaper Gujarat Samachar, following a raid on their premises in Ahmedabad, sources said.
Veteran Communist leader and former chief minister V S Achuthanandan, one of the most popular and crowd-puller leaders in the history of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist in the state, turned 100 on Friday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money-laundering case against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan and her IT firm for receiving 'illegal payments' from a Kochi-based private firm, official sources said on Wednesday.
Communist Party of India-Marxist's acting state secretary and Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener A Vijayaraghavan on Monday said that the Kerala government will have a 21-member cabinet.
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