Latest news with #K.Surendran
The Hindu
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BJP core committee lays out road plan for local body polls
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) core committee, which met here on Monday, reportedly saw a better chance of the party emerging as a reliable third alternative to the Left Democratic Front- United Democratic Front 'revolving door' politics in the 2025 local body polls and the 2026 Assembly elections. A BJP insider said the Congress' 'lacklustre' showing in the Nilambur Assembly byelection had buoyed the party's hopes for a better showing in the elections that lay ahead. He said the core committee's reading was that the Congress had failed to cash in on the 'anti-incumbency' anger against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government fully. Later, former BJP State president K. Surendran told a press conference that the Congress had merely held on to a traditional stronghold wrested from it by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) using an Independent candidate. He said the voting pattern in Nilambur revealed the Opposition United Democratic Front's (UDF) inherent electoral weaknesses, which the BJP would exploit to its full advantage. Mr. Surendran said the BJP was initially not keen on contesting the Nilambur bypoll at the fag end of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government. 'The bypoll was of scarce political or electoral consequence. Still, the BJP kept its options open,' he said. Mr. Surendran said the core committee meeting had finalised the contours of a roadmap for emerging as a potent electoral force in the local body elections. He stated that the BJP was open to tactical alliances without compromising its core ideology or national agenda. BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and leaders P.K. Krishnadas, V. Muraleedharan, Sobha Surendran, and M.T. Ramesh were among those present.
The Hindu
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
PILs seeking compensation in Sprinklr case: HC seeks State's explanation
The Kerala High Court has sought the State government's explanation within two weeks, on public interest litigations (PILs) filed in 2020 by Congress leader and former Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and former BJP State president K. Surendran, seeking compensation to COVID-affected people and those under observation whose medical data was allegedly 'leaked' in the Sprinklr case. They had further alleged that there was corruption in the contract that had been inked with Sprinklr, a U.S.-based firm. The government had then contended that the PILs had little relevance, since the period of contract with the firm had expired. The court had subsequently sought amendments to the demands if any in the PILs. Subsequently, the petitioners sought details of people who were affected by the data leak and the payment of compensation for them. The firm had in May 2020 submitted an affidavit before the High Court, stating that the back up data of COVID patients and those who were under observation that was stored in the server of the data analytical firm, had been permanently deleted. In July 2022, Congress leader Jyothikumar Chamakkala had filed a petition before the High Court, demanding that the government clarify the legal status of the agreement with the firm and whether it had facilitated the sale of data for a price.
The Hindu
21-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bharat Mata row: Left front playing vote-bank politics, says Kerala BJP leader Surendran
Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran on Saturday (June 21, 2025) blamed the Left front for playing vote-bank politics by creating a furore over the portrait of 'Bharat Mata' displayed at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram. By opposing Bharat Mata and the saffron flag, the Ministers in the Left front government and the leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) think that they can make political gains. It is a clear conspiracy to appease a section of the voters aimed at making gains in the forthcoming local body and Assembly elections, he alleged. He said the Bharat Mata concept and saffron flag have been part of the Indian tradition for long. The State government and the Ministers have no powers to say that the portrait of the Bharat Mata cannot be displayed at the Raj Bhavan, he said.
