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.
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.
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front on Wednesday suggested further tightening of the measures on liquor policy if it returns to power.
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.
The hill shrine had been witnessing protests by devotees and right wing groups against the government's decision to implement the September 28 Supreme Court verdict, permitting women of all age groups to offer prayers at the temple.
'He should not come to Kerala and fight against the CPI which is an integral part of the INDIA alliance'
In an unprecedented move, United Democratic Front MLAs blocked Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan inside the state assembly on Wednesday with 'go back' slogans and placards against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Local residents have stressed that land acquisition for rehabilitation must be completed promptly, as it has been delayed after estate owners challenged it in the Kerala high court.
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 Airports Economic Regulatory Authority has turned down Bengaluru International Airport Ltd's (BIAL) proposal to increase User Development Fee (UDF) by 239 per cent for domestic and 79 per cent for international departing passengers from the airport.
Emerging Kerala Global Connect Summit, a government initiative to attract overseas capital to the state, is set to begin from Tuesday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurating the summit.
'What matters is policies, not personalities like Priyanka, Rahul or Modi.'
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
A senior police officer told PTI that they were taken into custody after they had offered prayers.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was given a rousing welcome by thousands of people, including United Democratic Front leaders and workers, at Kalpetta in Wayanad on Wednesday as she prepares to make her electoral debut by filing nomination papers for the coming Lok Sabha bypoll.
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.
Several people are still feared trapped in the debris after a series of landslides that occurred in Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad.
The Adani Group is planning to invest Rs 20,000 crore more to complete the remaining three phases of the Vizhinjam International Seaport, the first transshipment port in the country, managing director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) Karan Adani said in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Talking to PTI after the official reception ceremony for 'San Fernando', the first mothership to dock at Vizhinjam, Adani said the port will be a game changer for Indian manufacturers as it reduces logistics cost by 30 to 40 per cent.
"They call themselves the champions of speech and expression. But deny the same for the people of Kerala."
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.
Kerala Congress-M says nobody has asked Mani to resign as UDF leaders meet to discuss the issue.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday submitted his resignation following the defeat of the ruling Congress-led UDF in the assembly election and attributed "false propaganda" against his government among the reasons that led to the debacle.
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.
Political pundits unanimously suggest that the state is not experiencing a discernible Gandhi wave this time around.
While the major fronts, the CPI-M led LDF and Congress-led UDF have given three and one seat respectively to women, the BJP-led NDA has set aside five seats for their female politicians in the upcoming LS polls.
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.
Wayanad will continue to support Rahul but not to the same extent as in 2019, when his margin of victory had been enormous. Articulate, to the point and speaking in fluent Malayalam, CPI's Annie Raja, had the people who gathered to see her, listening in rapt attention, notes Shyam G Menon.
After roping in eminent technocrat Sam Pitroda as Kerala's "development mentor", the Congress-led UDF Government plans to utilise the services of E Sreedharan as his term as MD of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is to end next month.
Buses kept off the roads and shops were closed in the state.
The incident of two Italian marines allegedly shooting dead two Indian fishermen off Kerala's coast in February and the subsequent legal and diplomatic issues made headlines throughout 2012, which also saw many developments on the state's political arena.
Kerala government wants to fly Middle East and asked Centre to relax regulatory norms like the latter did for Air India Express.
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.
'The PM who is first among equals, who has to listen to others, take their point of view into account and who would have to be a good manager'
The government wants the state to be renamed as 'Keralam' in the Constitution and all the official records.
Inaugurating the solidarity rally, Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP, strongly condemned the war unleashed by Israel in Gaza and their attacks against hospitals and refugee camps there.
The Kerala assembly on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to refrain from implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country.
The Kerala government on Monday claimed investment worth Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) was made in the state in the last four years.
Senor BJP leader O Rajagopal on Friday asked the UDF government not to rush the MoU on the Smart City IT Project in Kochi, alleging that the venture controlled by Dubai Internet City could pose a serious threat to the national security.
The IUML is a major ally of the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala and an influential political party among the Muslim community.
