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Kerala Bypolls: Counting begins in Nilambur seat, Congress candidate leads in early trends
Kerala Bypolls: Counting begins in Nilambur seat, Congress candidate leads in early trends

Indian Express

time23-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Indian Express

Kerala Bypolls: Counting begins in Nilambur seat, Congress candidate leads in early trends

Counting of votes for the bypoll in the Nilambur Assembly seat in Kerala's Malappuram district began at 8 am Monday. Early trends show that Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath is leading as the first round of counting was in progress. The constituency voted on June 19 after CPI(M)-backed two-time Independent legislator P V Anvar quit last year. The Nilambur Assembly seat, which falls within the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat represented by the Congress's Priyanka Gandhi, had registered 75.87 per cent of polling. In the first stage of counting, 1,403 postal votes will be opened before unlocking Electronic Voting Machines, which had recorded 1,74,667 votes. Votes in electronic machines will be counted in 19 rounds. The CPI(M) has fielded its young party state secretariat member M Swaraj, and the Congress has nominated Shoukath, the son of late party veteran Aryadan Muhammed, who had uninterruptedly represented the seat from 1987 to 2016. Anvar, who had quit raising a revolt against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is contesting as an Independent candidate. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Mohan George, who had been with the regional Christian party Kerala Congress before embracing the BJP after the by-election schedule was declared. The bypoll outcome is crucial for the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF regime and the Congress-led Opposition UDF as the Kerala Assembly elections are slated for April-May 2026. A victory in the by-election will serve as a major boost for the Pinarayi Vijayan regime, which is gearing up for a third consecutive term. Anvar has declared that he is in the election fray to defeat 'Pinarayism,' (style of functioning). Congress, which has been in Opposition for the last nine years, has stated that it is fighting to prove the anti-incumbency factor against the Vijayan regime.

Tripura govt gives jobs to kin of 18 people killed in political violence before 2018
Tripura govt gives jobs to kin of 18 people killed in political violence before 2018

Indian Express

time22-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Indian Express

Tripura govt gives jobs to kin of 18 people killed in political violence before 2018

The Tripura government has provided jobs to 18 people whose family members were killed in political violence in the state before 2018, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath said in Agartala on Saturday. The minister said 39 petitions were submitted to the scrutiny committee, and 18 people were offered jobs in various departments. Nath is the chairman of the scrutiny committee, which also comprises the law secretary, secretary of information and cultural affairs, an inspector general of police, and the additional secretary of the home department. 'Another meeting of the committee was held on June 19. We got eight more petitions, and five of the names were recommended. We are reviewing the remaining petitions,' the minister told reporters at the Civil Secretariat. 'We give due respect to democracy. We feel that supporting the family members of those who were killed in political violence is our moral duty. Our government has not shown any discrimination on the basis of political affiliations in this case,' he said. The BJP-led coalition government first came to power in the state in 2018, unseating the erstwhile CPI(M)-led Left Front government which had ruled the state for 25 consecutive years. Criticising the previous government, Nath said, 'Several political murders happened before 2018 during the earlier government's tenure. Murders and political violence are not healthy for democracy. If it happens, it is a failure and embarrassment for shame for the government'. He, however, could not give an exact figure of the political murders that purportedly occurred prior to 2018. 'Petitions received are of cases from different years like 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998,1981, 2015, 2016, 2017…,' he said. Nath added that those who wish to apply under the scheme should collect forms from the sub-divisional magistrates' offices. These applications will be assessed by the committee based on inputs shared by district magistrates and superintendents of police. 'If the names are approved by the committee, it will be forwarded to the Finance Department, and based on vacancies in different departments, they will be given jobs,' he added.

Amid ‘Bharat Mata' portrait tussle with Governor, Kerala's Left govt to teach ‘powers of Governor' in schools
Amid ‘Bharat Mata' portrait tussle with Governor, Kerala's Left govt to teach ‘powers of Governor' in schools

Indian Express

time20-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Indian Express

Amid ‘Bharat Mata' portrait tussle with Governor, Kerala's Left govt to teach ‘powers of Governor' in schools

The tussle between Kerala's Governor and its elected Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government now appears to have entered a new realm. A day after he walked out of an official function at Raj Bhavan in protest against the use of a portrait of Bharat Mata with a saffron flag at the venue, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said the powers of the governor will be included in the school syllabus this academic year. The move is unprecedented from a state, and comes a day after the minister, a senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, walked out of an official event at Raj Bhavan after questioning the propriety of using a portrait of Bharat Mata with a saffron flag. However, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said the minister's walkout 'is a gross violation of protocol and a grave insult to the office of the Governor'. This is the second time that the CPI(M)-led Left front government in the state is locking horns with Raj Bhavan over the use of such a portrait at functions. Addressing the media Friday, Sivankutty said the second volume of social science textbooks for Class 10 will include lessons on the Constitutional powers of the Governor. 'Besides, when the curriculum for Classes 11 and 12 will be renewed, the same topic will be included in the syllabus. The Supreme Court had clearly stated the powers of the Governor. Constitutional values should be taught in schools. The Governor should rectify his advice to the students that they should adore Bharat Mata,' he said. Thursday's event was the Kerala State Bharat Scouts and Guides Rajya Puraskar award ceremony at Raj Bhavan, for which the Governor was the chief guest. The minister, during his address, protested against the portrait of Bharat Mata and walked out of the function. He eventually told the media: 'Raj Bhavan is not the Governor's family property. It cannot be converted into an RSS centre. When I reached the venue, I saw the Governor offering floral tributes before the portrait. This was not in the programme notice. During my address, I had registered my protest to the Governor. During an official function, a photo that symbolises a political organisation should not be placed'. The Governor later said that there is no question of doing away with Bharat Mata, 'as we draw our idea of patriotism and nationhood from Bharat Mata'. 'Bharat Mata helps us to inculcate nationalistic values amongst our young generation,' he said.

West Bengal Minister Bratya Basu, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh cast in Bengali political thriller
West Bengal Minister Bratya Basu, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh cast in Bengali political thriller

New Indian Express

time07-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • New Indian Express

West Bengal Minister Bratya Basu, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh cast in Bengali political thriller

KOLKATA: West Bengal minister Bratya Basu and his Trinamool Congress colleague Kunal Ghosh are set to appear in a Bengali film on the mystery behind the disappearance of a female university official. The thriller will recapture Kolkata's political arena of 1997 when the CPI(M)-led Left Front was in power in West Bengal. The movie 'Karpur' (camphor) is based on a book, 'Antardhaner Nepathye' (behind the disappearance), which had references to a real life incident. It will cast Ghosh, who is a journalist-turned-TMC secretary, and Basu, the education minister and an acclaimed actor-director. "The film is an intense political thriller. It is entirely fictional having no resemblance with any real-life incident or personality," director Arindam Sil told PTI. Ghosh is essaying the role of a political leader, while Basu is portraying the character of a seasoned officer of the homicide section of the Kolkata Police. The role has been conceived keeping Basu in mind, Sil said. "For Kunal, his spontaneity before the camera, his way of speaking and his political acumen made him an automatic choice for the (politician's) role," the director added. Celebrated actor Rituparna Sengupta essays the role of the missing university official. In the movie, 22 years after the disappearance, two investigative reporters of a news portal begin research into the incident and stumble upon many startling facts and the mystery is unfolded, sources in the production house said, revealing the storyline. The film will hit the floors next month. Ghosh shared a picture of the script reading session on social media. "New cinema Karpur. Director Arindam Sil reading script. This was the first session. New experience for me as an actor. Amazing script," he said in the post in Bengali.

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