Latest news with #PinarayiVijayan-led
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Budget 2026–27: Austerity takes centre stage
Thiruvananthapuram: The state finance department has begun preparations for the 2026–27 budget with a no-frills circular that highlights Kerala's deepening fiscal constraints. Issued on July 21, the directive includes sweeping instructions to all departments: Freeze non-plan revenue spending at current levels (excluding salaries), halt routine budget escalations and justify every proposed outlay with evidence. The circular carries added weight as it sets the tone for the final budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF govt—a political milestone unfolding under visible economic pressure. With the state's "ways and means" position under strain, the message is clear: No room for expansion, only consolidation. Departments have been warned against inflating estimates or relying on assumptions. Revised estimates for 2025–26 and proposals for 2026–27 must strictly reflect post-budget developments, sanctioned changes and actual disbursals. The habitual practice of incremental budgeting — often divorced from spending patterns— has been flagged, with the govt acknowledging the risk it poses to cash-flow planning and fiscal predictability. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 15 Most Beautiful Women in the World Undo Timelines for budget submissions are rigid. All proposals must be routed electronically via the budget monitoring system by Sept. Schemes lacking statutory backing or pending administrative sanction will not be entertained. The circular underscores austerity but offers few solutions to address the underlying revenue crunch. Department heads have been instructed to enforce economy measures, drop redundant schemes and identify surplus staff for redeployment where functions have been pruned. While it rules out retrenchment, the emphasis on administrative "efficiency" signals tighter workforce controls ahead. Departments must also submit detailed breakups of tax and non-tax arrears, loan recoveries and lapses in collections. Persistently underutilized schemes or those with excessive allocations are under scanner. Proposals lacking clarity or supporting data will be rejected outright—a move likely to curb padding, but which could also delay new social sector initiatives. The circular makes room for some policy directives, including the mandatory allocation of 0.05% of departmental outlays to promote Malayalam, the official language. Departments managing public assets—including schools, hospitals and key infrastructure—must now submit explicit asset maintenance plans, reflecting concerns that basic upkeep has taken a backseat to flashy new projects. In a nod to long-standing demands for better visibility of social spending, departments must now detail the gender and child-specific shares of their allocations. However, without real shifts in resource distribution, these provisions risk remaining on paper. Centrally sponsored and externally aided schemes will face tighter scrutiny, with the finance department demanding a clear breakdown of Central and state contributions to prevent duplication and leakage. Local bodies must prepare separate budgets to reflect devolved functions and decentralized expenditure. What stands out is not just the detail, but the defensive tone — a circular that reads less like a roadmap for progress and more like damage control. With elections due next year, the LDF govt appears determined to present a budget that prioritizes caution over ambition. Whether this reflects responsible planning or a govt boxed in by its own financial decisions remains an open question.
Hindustan Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
UDF beats Left Front to take Nilambur seat
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) scored an impressive victory in the Nilambur assembly bypoll on Monday, wresting the seat from the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), gaining momentum as it heads towards the assembly elections in Kerala next year. Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan celebrates the victory of Congress-led United Democratic Front in the Nilambur assembly constituency bypoll, in Kochi on Monday (PTI) Riding on what it claimed as a wave of 'anti-incumbency sentiments' against the (chief minister) Pinarayi Vijayan-led government, UDF's Aryadan Shoukath beat his LDF rival M Swaraj by 11,077 votes, the Election Commission of India (ECI) data showed. After his win, Shoukath told reporters that it was the victory of the people of Kerala. 'For the past nine years, the people of Nilambur had been neglected. It is their victory. It shows the public anger against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government,' he said. While Shoukath, son of eight-time MLA and veteran Congress leader Aryadan Mohammed, got 77,737 votes, Swaraj, former MLA and member of the CPM state secretariat, received 66,660 votes. PV Anvar, a former two-time MLA, who left the LDF fold following differences with Vijayan and the CPM leadership and fought as an Independent, dented the vote banks of both the coalitions and garnered 19,760 votes to end up in third position. BJP's Mohan George, who was fielded to shore up votes of Christian settler farmers in Nilambur, could only gain 8,648 votes and ended fourth in the contest. Though Nilambur, located in the Malappuram district, is largely viewed as a UDF stronghold, it ended up in the LDF kitty in the 2016 and 2021 assembly elections through Anvar. This is the first time since 2021 that the UDF has wrested a seat that belonged to the LDF in a bypoll. A closer look at the results showed that the UDF's victory in Nilambur was expansive, notching up decisive leads in the municipality and six of seven panchayat jurisdictions. In the 2021 elections, the UDF went down to the LDF by 2,700 votes and fell behind in Nilambur municipality area, and the panchayats of Amarambalam, Karulai, Edakkara, Pothukal and Vazhikkadavu. In the by-election results on Monday, the UDF trailed the LDF only in Karulai panchayat. The LDF candidate M Swaraj trailed in his home panchayat of Pothukal, viewed as a Communist fortress. The UDF's campaign in Nilambur was grounded on showcasing alleged failures of the LDF government and raising issues such as defaultment of social security pensions, purported corruption in national highway expansion project and apathy in solving the human-wildlife conflict. At the same time, the LDF ran its campaign highlighting the infrastructure progress during the last 10 years, reminding voters about the unkept promises of the previous UDF regime and accusing it of joining hands with fringe outfits such as Jamaat-e-Islami. Leader of the Opposition and UDF chairman VD Satheesan said that the Nilambur win gives the UDF enough fuel to clinch a victory in the 2026 assembly elections. 'This win is the result of the hard work of team UDF. We worked as one party. We have become the strongest political coalition in Kerala today. Since 2021, we won the Puthuppally, Thrikkakara, and Palakkad bypolls with big margins, and we were able to reduce the LDF's winning margin in Chelakkara. We promised the voters that if we win Nilambur, we will come to power in 2026. We will keep that promise,' said Satheesan. Swaraj conceded the defeat in his home turf of Nilambur and said the party would evaluate the results. 'We will certainly evaluate the results and see where we went wrong. The result does not validate any anti-incumbency against the LDF government. Many changes have taken place in the state after the LDF came to power. Would the people turn their back on such improvements? I don't think so,' he said. At the same time, TMC state convener Anvar, who fought as an Independent, said the result was a mandate against 'Pinarayism', or the politics of Vijayan. 'The votes we got in this election were from the LDF camp. These are votes against Pinarayism. Many did not see me as a strong contender, but we have proved our strength. In future, if there is a way to associate with the UDF, we will follow it,' said Anvar.
India Gazette
23-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
By-election results: BJP, TMC, AAP retain seats, anti-incumbency sentiment in Kerala with UDF win in Nilambur
New Delhi [India], June 23 (ANI): The Election Commission of India on Monday announced the results for the by-elections conducted on five seats of four states - Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala and West Bengal. While most of the parties like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) retained their seats in this by-elections, but the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in Kerala faced a major blow, as the alliance failed to retain its Nilambur assembly seat. The bypolls were conducted on Kaliganj assembly constituency of West Bengal, Kadi and Visavadar seats of Gujarat, Nilambur of Kerala and Ludhiana West of Punjab. In a significant blow to the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in Kerala, UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath of Congress defeated LDF's M Swaraj of CPI(M) by a large margin of 11,077 votes in the Nilambur assembly by-election. Shoukath had secured 77737 votes, a lead of 11077 votes from M Swaraj of the CPM after 19 rounds of counting. The bypoll for the Nilambur seat was necessitated after the resignation of Left Democratic Front independent legislator PV Anvar, who later joined the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) after his acrimonious break-up with the ruling alliance. In its official statement, Congress in Kerala said, 'Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has won the Nilambur assembly constituency, a sitting seat of the ruling CPM combine, by a huge margin of over 11,000 votes. Big congrats to Aryadan Shoukath and the entire Congress-UDF team that worked relentlessly for this shining victory.' 'Successive bypoll wins and a clean sweep in the parliament elections by the Congress and UDF have proved beyond doubt that the anti-incumbency sentiment against the Pinarayi Vijayan government is gaining momentum by the day. Now the anger of the people has reached its peak. The government cannot escape the heat or continue to live in denial, hiding behind the multi-crore PR machinery,' it added. In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Alifa Ahmed secured victory in the Kaliganj assembly by-election by a margin of 50,049 votes. Alifa defeated Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Ashish Ghosh and Congress' Kabil Uddin Shaikh and emerged victorious on the seat. According to the Election Commission of India, Alifa received 1,02,759 votes while BJP's Ghosh received 52,710 votes. Congress' Shaikh managed to get 28,348 votes while 2,502 votes went to NOTA (None of the above). The by-poll in the constituency was necessitated after the death of TMC leader Nasiruddin Ahmed. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her deep gratitude to the voters, thanking them for their overwhelming support after party took lead on the Kaliganj seat. In a social media post on X, Chief Minister Banerjee wrote, 'In the by-election of the Kaliganj Assembly constituency, people from all religions, castes, communities, and all walks of life have overwhelmingly blessed us by exercising their voting rights. I humbly express my gratitude to them.' She credited the victory to the guiding values of Maa-Mati-Manush (Mother, Soil, People), emphasizing, 'The main architect of this victory is Maa-Mati-Manush. My colleagues in Kaliganj have worked tirelessly for this, and I extend my sincere congratulations to them as well.' In Punjab, AAP's Sanjeev Arora won the by-elections by with a margin of 10,637 votes, retaining the party's seat. In Gujarat, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Gopal Italia won the Visavadar seat while BJP's Rajendrakumar (Rajubhai) Daneshwar Chavda won the Kadi seat. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Gopal Italia won the Visavadar (Gujarat) Assembly by-election by a margin of 17,554 votes. The Visavadar seat fell vacant after Bhayani Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai resigned. After party's victory, former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the people of Gujarat and Punjab after the party's spectacular performance in the bypolls in Visavadar and Ludhiana West and said that people rejected Congress and BJP in both the constituencies. Speaking on his victory, Gopal Italia said, 'These elections were contested by the public... I was only a medium. When the people contest the elections themselves, it is confirmed that the results would be historic... The BJP did everything to win these elections... This is people's win. The people want change in Gujarat... The people have faith in the AAP and its leadership... I thank everyone who was involved in these elections...' Gujarat AAP leader Anup Sharma said, 'The people of Visavadar saw the false promises made by the BJP. All their fake promises have been revealed, and Gopal Italia did not win alone. Today, every member of the Aam Aadmi Party is feeling this victory, and this lead will increase. This is a 'khasa tamasha' to the BJP by the people of Gujarat.' Following Gopal Italia's victory in the Visavadar by-election, Gujarat AAP president Isudan Gadhvi said that AAP will form the government in said this is a victory for the people of Visavadar, including farmers, labourers, and unemployed youth. He claimed it marks the beginning of AAP's rise in Gujarat and further emphasised that AAP, not Congress, can challenge the BJP's dominance in the state. In a post on X, AAP Gujarat expressed its gratitude, stating, 'Many thanks to the people of Visavadar, Bhensan, and Junagadh villages for choosing the politics of work of the Aam Aadmi Party.' Meanwhile, BJP's Rajendrakumar (Rajubhai) Daneshwar Chavda won the Kadi seat with a margin of 39,452 votes. He managed to gain 99,742 votes. In a social media post on X, the Gujarat BJP expressed gratitude to the public after party candidate Chavda secured victory from Kadi. 'Many thanks to Janata Janardhan and hearty congratulations to the workers for giving a grand victory to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Shri Rajendrabhai Chavda in the Kadi Assembly by-election,' the Gujarat BJP posted. (ANI)
New Indian Express
23-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Bypoll results: Congress-led UDF wins in Kerala, TMC wins in Bengal, AAP and BJP secure one seat each in Gujarat
By-elections to assembly seats in Gujarat, Punjab, West Bengal, and Kerala on Monday delivered mixed results, with AAP gaining ground, TMC set to retain its seat in Bengal, and the Congress-led UDF scoring a key victory in Kerala. Kerala: UDF snatches Nilambur seat In a severe blow to the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in Kerala, the opposition UDF on Monday surged ahead in the Nilambur Assembly by-election and was on the verge of victory as counting neared completion. UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath, son of Congress veteran Aryadan Muhammed, secured a lead of 11,077 votes over CPI(M)'s M Swaraj. The bypoll was widely seen as a mid-term referendum on the LDF government. Independent candidate P V Anvar, the former legislator whose resignation triggered the bypoll, surprised many with his strong performance, securing over 18,000 votes. The BJP candidate, Mohan George, lagged far behind. Celebrations erupted in Nilambur and across the UDF camp, with Congress leaders hailing the result as a sign of growing public support ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
New Indian Express
23-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Bypoll results: UDF scores big in Kerala, TMC ahead in Bengal, AAP leads in Gujarat and Punjab
By-elections to assembly seats in Gujarat, Punjab, West Bengal, and Kerala on Monday delivered mixed results, with AAP gaining ground, TMC set to retain its seat in Bengal, and the Congress-led UDF scoring a key victory in Kerala. UDF snatches Nilambur seat In a severe blow to the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in Kerala, the opposition UDF on Monday surged ahead in the Nilambur Assembly by-election and was on the verge of victory as counting neared completion. UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath, son of Congress veteran Aryadan Muhammed, secured a lead of 11,077 votes over CPI(M)'s M Swaraj. The bypoll was widely seen as a mid-term referendum on the LDF government. Independent candidate P V Anvar, the former legislator whose resignation triggered the bypoll, surprised many with his strong performance, securing over 18,000 votes. The BJP candidate, Mohan George, lagged far behind. Celebrations erupted in Nilambur and across the UDF camp, with Congress leaders hailing the result as a sign of growing public support ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. TMC comfortably ahead in Kaliganj In West Bengal's Kaliganj assembly seat, TMC candidate Alifa Ahamed, daughter of the late MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed, was leading by over 19,000 votes after seven rounds of counting. She had secured 32,308 votes against Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh, who had the backing of the CPI(M) and polled 13,144 votes. BJP's Ashis Ghosh was in third place with 11,987 votes. The bypoll was held following the death of Nasiruddin Ahamed in February. Voting saw a turnout of 69.85 per cent and remained largely peaceful.
