Kerala Assembly Polls

Union Minister George Kurian and former Union ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan are among the 47 candidates announced by the BJP in its first list for the Kerala Assembly elections. Fielding a mix of senior leaders and new faces as it prepares for the April 9 polls, the party is hoping to end its electoral drought in the state, where politics has traditionally been dominated by the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF. Among the prominent names in the list are Kurian, Chandrasekhar and Muraleedharan, along with senior leaders K Surendran, Sobha Surendran, P C George, Padmaja Venugopal, P K Krishnadas, former director general of police R Sreelekha and filmmaker Major Ravi. Chandrasekhar will contest from the Nemom Assembly constituency, while Muraleedharan has been fielded from Kazhakkoottam, both key constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram district. Nemom is the only constituency in Kerala that has so far been won by the BJP, when O Rajagopal won the seat in the 20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the change of name of the state from Kerala to Keralam by the Centre was a joyful moment for "Malayali" brothers. The PM was speaking at the golden jubilee celebration of the Akhila Kerala Dheevara Sabha, an organisation which works for welfare of the fishing community in the state. In his inaugural address, Modi appreciated the role of the fishing community during the 2018 floods in Kerala, lauding their courage, service, and dedication at that time. He also pointed out that the Dheevara Sabha has been working for fishermen's rights for 50 years. Modi said the Centre too has been working for the welfare of the fishing community and has carried out various initiatives to empower them. He also said that the Union government has taken various measures, including installing over 4,500 satellite-based transponders in fishing boats, to ensure the safety of fishermen at sea. Modi arrived at the Kochi international airport around 11.30 am a

The Congress on Thursday set up two key panels for the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls, with Ramesh Chennithala and Shashi Tharoor appointed chairman and co-chairman, respectively, of the party's campaign committee. Tharoor's appointment assumes significance as it comes days after he met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi for redressal of his grievances, after which he said "all is good" and "we are all on the same page". Since then, Tharoor has been seen speaking prominently for the Congress, and also initiated the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha. Congress president Kharge has approved the proposal for the constitution of the campaign committee and the manifesto committee of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee for the upcoming Assembly elections, a party statement said. While Chennithala has been named the chairman of the campaign committee, Tharoor has been appointed its co-chairman. Congress MP Shafi Parambil will be the

Voting held on June 19 for bypolls to five Assembly seats - Kadi, Visavadar (Gujarat), Nilambur (Kerala), Ludhiana West (Punjab), and Kaliganj (West Bengal); counting is underway

West Bengal, on the other hand, has elected fewer above 70 and a larger number in the age group 25-40

LDF scripts history in Kerala; DMK wins Tamil Nadu; BJP retains Assam, while AINRC+ wins Puducherry

Opposition parties are likely to assert themselves in like the GST Council, but more immediately in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.

The Election Commission on Sunday said the counting process for the five assemblies was going on "smoothly", but its website was slow in displaying trends and results due to server overload

The state alternates between UDF and LDF even when governments perform reasonably well. Except in 1977, no ruling front has been re-elected

The Congress on Sunday said it has "lost" elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal but has not "lost its morale or resolve" to continue to be people's voice in these tough times

Top Congress leaders in Kerala on Sunday gracefully accepted their as it seemed the party-led United Democratic Front will, in all likelihood, end up with less seats than 2016

The Election Commission on Sunday told political parties that its ban on victory processions during and after counting of votes is being flouted.

The Election Commission Sunday said it has taken a stern view of reports of congregation of people to celebrate anticipated victory

By reaching the halfway mark in many of the 140 constituencies, the indications are that the Left is set to rewrite the state's electoral history by becoming the first government to retain power

While some exit polls gave an edge to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, others said the BJP was heading towards power in the state

The Election Commission on Tuesday banned all victory processions on or after counting of votes in states where assembly polls were held, sources said citing an order

Covid-19 testing usually speeds up when local reports indicate a rising positivity rate. But Kerala and Assam dragged on till polls were over, while in West Bengal testing is still disastrously low

The unexpected resignation of Kerala Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel, often known as the blue eyed boy of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shows that all's not well in the CPI-M in Kerala

This comes days after the state Lokayukta's finding that he had abused his position as a public servant to favour a relative

At least 10 Left party offices were vandalised and police resorted to baton charge as violence broke out in Kerala's Kannur district on Wednesday night over the death of an IUML youth wing member