Malappuram likely to be a sweep for UDF, which is depending on IUML to sweep 16 seats, reports Ashok Parameswar
Surprises seem unlikely in Kerala’s Malappuram district this election. The 16 constituencies — the highest number in any district — has been a stronghold of the United Democratic Front (UDF). In the 2016 assembly elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) won just four seats here. The remaining seats were wrested by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key constituent of the UDF. The district which has a 70% Muslim population is the bed rock of IUML’s support base in Kerala.
Adding more head to the campaigning, the district is also witnessing a Lok Sabha bypoll. While the LDF has fielded Student’s Federation of India (SFI) national president VP Sanu to take on IUML’s PK Kunhalikutty and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) AP Abdullakutty.
For the assembly polls, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is fielding 14 of its candidates and 2 from Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS). Meanwhile the CPI(M) has fielded five Independents candidates, of the nine the Left coalition is fielding across the state. CPI on the other hand has three candidates with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Indian National League (INL) fielding one each.
The LDF, however, is looking to repeat its 2006 showing, when it swept all the seats in the segment. But the UDF is confident that it will not lose any of its strongholds. The Left’s calculations for defeating the UDF has gained momentum.
The fact that the UDF has put up strong candidates in Thavanur, Ponnani, Tanur and Nilambur constituencies also gives confidence in the formation’s supporters. The contest is stronger than that of the previous election of 2016. It is likely to be a fierce battle in Perinthalmanna and Mankada where the Left Front had lost by a slight margins last elections.
The fight in Thavanur between KT Jaleel and Feroz Kunnamparambil is one of the heated political battle that Kerala is looking forward to. The strongholds of the Muslim League in Malappuram, Kottakkal, Vallikunnu, Vengara and Ernad are unlikely to be shaken.
Malappuram is crucial for the UDF to gain power in Kerala. But unlike other elections, the Muslim League will have to put in sincere work to overcome the challenge posed by the LDF.
Prime Minister Oli is in a difficult position inside his own party, Nepal Communist Party-UML, as Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to seek his resignation nd initiate the formation of a new government under its leadership, reports Asian Lite News
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who is in trouble inside his own party, is likely to face tougher days ahead as the primary opposition, Nepali Congress (NC) has decided to seek his resignation and initiate the formation of a new government under its leadership.
The decisions were taken at a Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the NC.
NC spokesperson Bishaw Prakash Sharma said the part has decided to seek Oli’s resignation as he has not taken any initiative of a way forward despite the House of Representatives, which he dissolved in December 2020, being restored.
Prime Minister Oli himself is in a difficult position inside his own party, Nepal Communist Party-UML.
A section of the party led by former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is forming parallel party structures within the UML after Oli suspended four senior leaders, including Nepal, for six months.
Oli accused Nepal and other leaders for being involved in anti-party activities and violating rules and norms.
After Oli dissolved the House on December 20, 2020, a section of party leaders upped the ante against the Prime Minister and sought his resignation.
On February 23, the Supreme Court of Nepal reinstated the House but Oli refused to step down.
The apex court on March 7 dropped another bombshell invoking the 2018 party merger between Oli’s UML and Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s Nepal Communist Party-Maoist Center.
Nepal, who was earlier close with Prachanda, returned to his mother party but Oli refused to incorporate them for supporting Dahal when the party was united under the banner of Nepal Communist Party.
After Oli refused to welcome Nepal and his faction inside the old party, the Prime Minister’s party has once again landed in fresh trouble.
After the Supreme Court split the Nepal Communist Party into two, the UML and Maoist Center, now, the Prachanda-led Maoist Center is also preparing to withdraw support lent to Oli in 2018 before the party unification.
If Maoist Center withdrew its support, Oli’s party will automatically reduce to a minority government.
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli
In that case, either Oli has to take a vote of confidence or face a no-confidence motion.
Nepali Congress’s decision to seek Oli’s resignation is a welcome step and time has come to remove Oli, former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said on Saturday.
Time has come for other opposition parties to play their role, Bhattarai said, adding, today our foremost priority is to remove Oli.
Meanwhile, Oli said that he was also aware of what the opposition are doing.
“First withdraw your support to the government. Then I will resign,” he said, adding that this is not the first time that his resignation has been sought.
“I cannot resign to meet each and every demand.”
Meantime, the Nepali Congress’ decision to seek Oli’s resignation and unseat him, could create a new political equation in Nepal.
If three opposition parties, Nepali Congress, Maoist Center and Janata Samajbai Party come together, they will easily unseat Oli.
And party leaders have said that now time has come to expedite talks between the opposition to unseat Oli.
With the rise of strong triangular competition in many constituencies, the outcome is unpredictable, reports Aravind Rajeev.
With hardly two weeks left, the electioneering is in full pace as ninety-nine candidates are in the fray for the 14 Assembly constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram district.
With the rise of strong triangular competition in many constituencies, the outcome is unpredictable with many candidates who secured victory now face stiff competition.
Two of the 14 assembly constituencies — Nemom and Kazhakoottam — turned to be the focal points in the election which is scheduled to be held on April 6.
Nemom, the lone sitting seat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, is one of the most-watched constituencies in Kerala with an unpredictable triangular contest.
BJP is going with former Mizoram governor and senior leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, who had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvanathapuram.
In the 2016 Assembly polls, Nemom rode into national headlines, when the BJP opened its account in the Kerala Assembly when its star candidate — former Union Minister O. Rajagopal defeated CPI(M) leader V. Sivankutty and left the Congress-led UDF candidate, a former state Minister V. Surendran Pillai of the then Janata Dal (U), a poor third.
But now, winning will be not that easy for BJP since the Congress has fielded its all-time ‘failsafe’ – K. Muraleedharan, son of late leader K. Karunakaran and sitting Member of Parliament from Vatakara constituency.
Congress decision to field Mureleedharan came after a huge drama with names of opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy flooded the news channels, social media, and also in the official political speeches as proposed candidates.
The CPI(M) has put up V Sivankutty, who won from Nemom in 2011. However, it will be the most keenly fought triangular contest in the state.
The highest number of 11 candidates are contesting in the Nemom Assembly constituency followed by 10 candidates each in Thiruvananthapuram and Vamanapuram.
With the arrival of BJP leader Sobha Surendran as the candidate in Kazhakkuttam, the electoral predictions in the constituency have completely changed. A tough triangular contest is expected in the constituency, where, last time, the BJP finished in second place.
As expected, Surendran has played the BJP trump card — the controversy surrounding women’s entry in Sabarimala — to woo Hindu voters largely. She is pitted against the LDF’s Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, who is now at the receiving end of criticisms related to Sabarimala.
Speaking to the media, Surendran said that the Sabarimala issue remained an emotive one and will have a major impact on the elections. However, Kadakampally is blocking this by highlighting the developments made in the constituency.
While on the other hand, Congress’ surprise pick of Dr S.S. Lal may change the polls results its course on UDF favour. Dr Lal is also the state president of All India Professional Congress.
Unlike the previous election, the sitting MLAs in the district, seem to have fears about the outcome of the results as the newcomers almost succeeded in the first place to create the impression that there is strong competition in many constituencies.
In the constituencies including Vamanapuram, Parassala, Kattakada, Neyyattinkara, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Aruvikkara, Chirayinkeezhu, Varkala and Vattiyoorkavu, the ground has been set for close battles.
Most of the new faces have close relationship with the constituencies they are contesting. UDF candidates Ansajitha Russell of Parassala, Anand Jayan from Vamanapuram, and Venugopal from Malayinkeezhu in Kattakada, were members of District Panchayats.
LDF candidate OS Ambika is the Block Panchayat President in Attingal and Janadhipathya Kerala Congress candidate for Thiruvananthapuram Antony Raju and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate for Kovalam A. Neelalohitadasan Nadar are former state legislators.
In Nedumangad, candidates PS Prashanth of the UDF and GR Anil of the Communist Party of India (CPI) have got personal connections in the constituency, which they try to turn into votes.
Same is the case in Neyyattinkara. Congress candidate R. Selvaraj is a former MLA from Neyyattinkara. LDF candidates G. Stephen of Aruvikara was CPI-M’s Area Secretary.
Increase of 50k voters
According to the latest voters list released by the Election Commission last week, the number of voters in the district has increased by more than 50,000.
The list, which was published on January 20 last year, had 27,69,272 voters. This year, the number has been increased to 28,19,710 with 50,438 additional voters.
Of these, 13,40,691 are male electors, 14,78,958 female electors and 61 are transgender voters. Transgender voters figure on the list in all constituencies except Varkala and Parassala. With 61 transgender voters, Thiruvananthapuram is also the district with the highest number of voters in this category.
The highest number of voters is in Parasala constituency – 2.19 lakh and the lowest is in the nearest constituency, Neyyattinkara – 1,86,705.
Ernakulam district has 14 constituencies with including 2649340 voters. This consists of 1,29,5142 male voters and 1,35,4171 female voters and 27 transgender voters…writes Shelja Pallath.
Ernakulam constituency is a crucial district for every political party in Kerala and for the newly mushroomed “non-political” players.
These include 20-20, V for People’s Party among others. If the recently concluded civic polls are an indicator, both LDF and UDF face concerns with the rising vote share of these “non-political” parties.
Ernakulam district has 14 constituencies with including 2649340 voters. This consists of 1,29,5142 male voters and 1,35,4171 female voters and 27 transgender voters.
According to some election surveys, UDF may win at least eight seats in the district and the rest may go to the CPI(M)-led LDF. Perumbavoor, Ankamali, Paravur and Aluva constituencies are predicted as a must win places for UDF.
LDF’s Aluva constituency candidate Shelna Nishad has been repeatedly rising unresolved issues the area faces under 10 years of Congress rule.
Ernakulam is known as a UDF safe zone, but it has another history too. The last by poll is the best example for its uncertainty. The victories of M.K Sanu and Sebastian Paul are also notable points to remember even in the 2021 election. Pollution and waterlogging in the monsoon period are the same issues of Kochi Corporation for many years.
In most of these major constituencies the vote difference between the two parties is very low and the chances for unpredicted victories and failures are common in the district.
Thrippunithura is another major constituency at which the three main parties are fighting for. While M. Swaraj is the sitting candidate, UDF’S K.Babu is busy recapitulating his image which took a dent over alleged bribery. The NDA candidate Dr. K.S Radhakrishnan is also an important player.
LDF is highlighting its Rs 1000 Cr developmental initiatives including, LIFE mission and school renovation programs in Muvazttupuzha as the campaign pitch.
Similarly in the high rage area Kothamangalam, a strong fight is expected between the two major parties, which can be challenged by 20-20 and BJP to an extent.
In Assam, the Congress has spelled out “five guarantees” which will be fulfilled if the party is voted to power…reports Asian Lite News.
Congress is setting a new approach for the upcoming election . Be it Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or top Congress leaders, one thing is common — all of them have placed high hopes to make a comeback in Assam in the coming Assembly elections.
Rahul Gandhi (Pallav Paliwal)
Assam, which will go to the polls in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, is a highly sensitive state which throws up a tough contest between the two main parties in every election.
While the Congress is focusing on Assam, it is not putting in much effort in West Bengal, which will also go to the polls in eight phases from March 27 to April 29. No high profile Congress leader has visited West Bengal so far, though Rahul Gandhi has been on a campaign trail in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala, apart from Assam.
While Rahul Gandhi ended the first leg of his poll campaign in Assam on Saturday, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hit the campaign trail in the northeastern state from Sunday where she is expected to address six public meetings. While Priyanka Gandhi had already visited the poll-bound state once earlier this month, sources said that Rahul Gandhi may turn up for another leg of campaigning in Assam.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has been camping in the state since the past two weeks, personally monitoring the Congress’ affairs in the state.
The Congress is banking on the elections on the basis of five guarantees, including non-implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to counter the BJP.
Releasing the party’s manifesto for the poll-bound state on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi said that if the Congress is voted to power at the Centre in the next general elections, its government would nullify the CAA.
“Assam was hit by violence 20 years ago, but after the Congress came to power in the state, it ensured peace, harmony and development. ‘BJP ka kaam hai todna, hamara kaam hai jodna’ (BJP’s task is to divide, but our job is to unite the people),” Rahul Gandhi said.
In Assam, the Congress has spelled out “five guarantees” which will be fulfilled if the party is voted to power. These include five lakh government jobs to the youth in five years, up to 200 units of free electricity per household, Rs 365 daily wage to tea garden workers and Rs 2,000 per month to housewives, besides the guarantee of not implementing the CAA in the state.
The Congress, which was in power in Assam for 15 years (2001-2016) until the BJP-led alliance came to power in 2016, has formed a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ or ‘Mahajot’ with three Left parties — CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML) — along with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and two community-based parties – Jimochayan (Deori) People’s Party and Adivasi National Party.
The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to the polls in three phases on March 27 (47 seats), April 1 (39 seats) and April 6 (40 seats). The results will be declared on May 2.
Rahul Gandhi doing lunch at chubwa tea estate with tea plantation workers and also addressing a rally to tea plantation workers at Dibrugarh Assam. (Photo: Pallav Paliwal)
Conte sought the confidence vote after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, now a senator who leads the Italia Viva party, pulled out of the ruling majority last week, sparking a government crisis…reports Asian Lite News
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has won the first of two confidence votes at the Lower House of Parliament by 321 in favour, 259 against and 27 abstaining.
Conte sought the confidence vote after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, now a senator who leads the Italia Viva party, pulled out of the ruling majority last week, sparking a government crisis, reports Xinhua news agency.
As a result of Renzi’s move, Conte now needs to find other political allies with enough votes in parliament to give him a new majority.
The government he leads is currently backed by the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the center-left Democratic Party (PD).
Renzi cited disagreements with the government over its handling of the pandemic and its National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a massive investment project using European Union (EU) funds, as his reasons for quitting.
Monday vote was was the first of two confidence votes the Prime Minister is facing.
The second one will take place on Tuesday after Conte addresses the Senate.
According to Italian law, the cabinet can survive only if it has the confidence of both chambers of the parliament.
Conte will face a tougher test in the Senate and the outcome is highly uncertain.
However, some domestic observers expect Conte’s government to survive the current crisis, but with a thinner coalition majority compared to the one that has ruled since September 2019.
“The Prime Minister might obtain the confidence, but is not likely to enlarge the boundaries of his majority,” Italy’s weekly news magazine L’Espresso said on Monday.
Conte’s effort to find new allies among lawmakers from political groups outside the M5S-PD coalition in the Senate might succeed, after all, resulting in a 161-seat majority (which would exactly mean half of the senators plus one), L’Espresso added.
If this was the case, the magazine said, it would still be a very thin political base.
“So scarce numbers…would have an immediate political repercussion: the margins for the government’s action will be just as narrow,” L’Espresso added.
Meanwhile, at a video conference with international media on Monday, the director of LUISS University’s School of Government Giovanni Orsina said he expected the government to win the confidence vote in both houses, despite several uncertainties.
“The cabinet is likely to survive, but with a thinner majority,” Orsina said.
At the same conference, LUISS professor of Applied Economics Valentina Meliciani warned the crisis should not end up affecting the country’s ability to plan and to spend efficiently the huge financial resources soon coming from the massive EU recovery fund.
Kamala Harris and Mike Pence at the vice-presidential debate on October 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo: C-Span screen grab)
Outgoing US Vice President Mike Pence spoke with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on the phone, during which the former offered his assistance with the latter’s inauguration on January 20, according to informed sources.
Friday’s conversation marked the first time Pence and Harris spoke after their debate i October 2020, The Hill news website reported.
While outgoing President Donald Trump announced that he will not attend President-elect Joe Biden and Harris’ inauguration on January 20, Pence will attend the ceremony.
Trump has not spoken to Biden since the results of the 2020 presidential election were announced.
Mike Pence
For the first time last week, Trump only said that there will be “a smooth, orderly and seamless transition”.
Besides the call on Friday, Pence attended the funeral of a late pilot Chuck, and he will deliver addresses on Saturday and Sunday in California and New York, respectively.
Pence and Harris’ conversation came over a week after the attack on the Capitol building on January 6 which took place while Congress was in session considering the ratification of the electoral college votes electing Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President.
Earlier that day outside the Capitol, Trump addressed his supporters during which called for “patriots” to take a stand against the 2020 election results
File photo taken on June 1, 2017 shows U.S. President Donald Trump leaves after delivering a speech at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Mike Theiler/IANS)
Five people, including a police officer, were killed during the riots.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning about plans of armed protests from January 16 through January 20 at all the 50 state capitols, and from January 17 through January 20, the day of the inauguration, at the Capitol in Washington D.C.
At least 20,000 National Guard troops are expected to be deployed in Washington D.C.
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, now a senator who leads the Italia Viva party, pulled out of the ruling majority on Wednesday, triggering a government crisis….reports Asian Lite News
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told President Sergio Mattarella that he will address Parliament rather than offering his resignation after one of his coalition allies withdrew its support, according to an official statement.
“The Prime Minister told the President of the Republic tha he wants to carry out an essential political clarification by addressing parliament,” Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued from Mattarella office on Thursday as saying.
The date for the parliamentary speech has not yet been set.
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, now a senator who leads the Italia Viva party, pulled out of the ruling majority on Wednesday, triggering a government crisis.
Italy’s current coalition government is backed by the center-left Democratic Party, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, and Italia Viva, the party that Renzi founded in late 2019.
Conte now needs to find another political ally with enough votes in Parliament to give him a new majority.
If this effort fails and Conte resigns, it will be up to Mattarella to sound out Italy’s political forces in order to form a new government to guide Italy through the end of the current legislature’s natural five-year term, in March 2023.
If Mattarella also fails and no new governing coalition can be found, Italian voters will be called to a snap election.
Italy’s last general election was held in March 2018.
