Central News Hub

Category: Politics

  • Thiagarajan pledges innovative measures to boost TN finance

    Thiagarajan pledges innovative measures to boost TN finance

    Thiagarajan said the standard methods will not be able to bring back the state finances to comfortable levels and it needs some innovative measures….reports Asian Lite News

     Innovative measures are needed to correct Tamil Nadu’s financial position, said state’s Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan.

    Speaking to a television channel soon after being sworn in as the Finance Minister, Thiagarajan said the state government’s finance went bad during the past seven years.

    Thiagarajan said the standard methods will not be able to bring back the state finances to comfortable levels and it needs some innovative measures.

    The state’s debt is about Rs 5 trillion.

    Hailing from a political family Thiagarajan did his schooling at the Lawrence School, Lovedale and graduated from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (formerly Regional Engineeringn College).

    Thiagarajan later got a master’s degree in Operations Research and a doctorate. He had also finished MBA in Financial Management at MIT Sloan School of Management.

    He had worked with Lehman Brothers and then with Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore.

    Also read:Amarinder rules out complete lockdown in Punjab

    Thiagarajan had earlier said the tax to gross state domestic product ratio had come down to less than 10 per cent.

    Meanwhile, new Covid-19 containment restrictions enforced in Tamil Nadu by the state government have come into force from 4 a.m. on Thursday adding the new measures will continue till May 20.

    With new enforcements in force, heavy rush that was earlier witnessed in the roads of Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and other towns has come down.

    Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan in an order said that all state government offices will function with 50 per cent staff strength for a fortnight, beginning Thursday.

    The order said that the secretaries to governments, head of departments, district collectors, will have an attendance schedule of the workforce.

    The employees must be in shifts of either on alternate days or once in three days as per the requirement of the workload.

    Private offices will also have to function with a 50 per cent workforce.

    Public transport, railways, metro rail, public and private buses will operate with only 50 per cent of their occupancy.

    Grocery shops (standalone) will be permitted to operate till 12 p.m.

    Grocery and vegetable shops in shopping complexes are not allowed to operate.

    All other shops other than grocery and vegetable shops will be closed. Shopping malls and other big shops have not been allowed to operate in the state since April 26.

    State government and public sector outlets will be allowed to function till 12 p.m.

    Restaurants will not be allowed to take sit-in customers while takeaways will be permitted from 6-10 a.m., 12-3 p.m., and from 6-9 p.m.

    Cinema halls will remain shut and all social, political and cultural gatherings are prohibited in open or closed spaces.

    Also read:Stalin era begins in Tamil Nadu

  • Stalin era begins in Tamil Nadu

    Stalin era begins in Tamil Nadu

    After a gap of 10 years, the DMK with Stalin at the helm comes back to power for a sixth time in its history by winning the 2021 Assembly elections securing a comfortable majority on its own, reports Asian Lite News

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y_RVAUkrfQ

    Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu by Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhawan on Friday.

    After a gap of 10 years, the DMK with Stalin at the helm comes back to power for a sixth time in its history by winning the 2021 Assembly elections securing a comfortable majority on its own.

    The 68-year-old Stalin wearing white shirt and dhoti came to Raj Bhavan at about 9 a.m. Purohit administered Stalin the Oath of Office and Secrecy.

    The Governor also administered the oath to 33 other lawmakers as the Ministers.

    MK Stalin takes oath as Tamil Nadu CM (photo: Pallav Paliwal)

    On Thursday, Purohit released the list of lawmakers who will be appointed as ministers and their portfolios.

    Stalin’s Cabinet has two women Ministers. Stalin’s wife Durga, son Udhayanidhi and other family members, former Deputy Chief Minister and AIADMK Coordinator O.Panneerselvam, leaders of Congress and other parties attended the swearing in ceremony.

    AIADMK top leader O Panneerselvam, leaders from alliance parties including Congress’s P Chidambaram, MDMK chief Vaiko and top state officials took part in the ceremony.

    DMK had fought the elections with its allies and got an absolute majority on its own by bagging 133 seats in the 234-member assembly.

    Stalin will hold several portfolios including Home, General Administration, Special Initiatives, Special Programme Implementation and Welfare of Differently -Abled Persons.

    MK Stalin takes oath as Tamil Nadu CM (,Kamal Haasann was present at ceremony (photo: Pallav Paliwal)
    Udhayanidhi doesn’t make it to Stalin cabinet

    Stalin did not include his son Udhayanidhi Stalin in the cabinet. Udhayanidhi, a film star-turned-politician had won with a margin of 60,000 votes from Chepauk seat and was tipped to be in the cabinet — speculations of him being the Deputy Chief Minister have been doing rounds.

    There are 15 new faces in the cabinet — the first timers. It is learnt that the Chief Minister will not be moving for a major bureaucratic reshuffle immediately.

    MK Stalin takes oath as Tamil Nadu CM (photo: Pallav Paliwal)
    Stalin gets emotional before Karunanidhi’s photo

    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin turned emotional on Friday while paying his respects before his late father and former Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi’s portrait at the latter’s residence in Gopalapuram on Friday.

    Stalin drove to Karunanidhi’s residence at Gopalapuram from Raj Bhavan after taking oath of office and secrecy as Chief Minister.

    Paying his floral tributes to Karunanidhi’s photograph, Stalin with a small hand gesture conveyed that his father was not there to see him become the Chief Minister of the state.

    Stalin’s sister Selvi quickly consoled him.

    MK Stalin (photo: Pallav Paliwal)

    Earlier on entering Karunanidhi’s residence where his mother resides now, some party cadres burst crackers as a mark of celebration to which Stalin immediately showed his displeasure.

    Stalin came to Karunanidhi’s residence to seek his mother’s blessings.

    At Raj Bhavan, Stalin’s wife Durga turned emotional on hearing her husband saying `”I Muthuvel Karunanidhi”, while being administered Oath of Office and Oath of Secrecy.

    War room to flight Covid

    Earlier, MK Stalin said Tamil Nadu is facing a medical emergency. The announcement from the DMK president comes in the backdrop of several rounds of meetings with health experts and other officials over the past three days.

    In a statement on Wednesday, Stalin said he has instructed the chief secretary to set up a ‘war room’ which will act as a central unit to monitor the medical oxygen stocks and vaccine, the requirement of beds, etc. He said the contribution of frontline workers during the pandemic is a great service to the people.

    ” The pandemic scenario has now changed into a ‘medical emergency’ and I appeal to private hospitals to fully commit themselves to save people who fear for their lives,” the DMK chief said in a statement. As part of Covid-19 containment measures, he asked the hospitals, which are now allotting 50 per cent of the total beds to Covid-19 patients, to provide additional beds. He urged them to also provide consession in billing to the maximum possible extent for services availed by coronavirus infected people. “This is a difficult period, but it is not something we cannot overcome,” he added.

    Also read:TN Election Updates: DMK takes lead

  • Labour Suffers Big Blow As Tories Win Hartlepool

    Labour Suffers Big Blow As Tories Win Hartlepool

    It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that Hartlepool seat has been won by a Conservative politician, reports Asian Lite News

     The UK’s ruling Conservative Party has snatched a historically left-wing seat from the opposition Labour in a tense by-election in England.

    Conservative party candidate Jill Mortimer won the north-east England seat of Hartlepool with a large majority, beating opposition Labour party candidate Paul Williams, reports dpa news agency.

    She described it as a “truly historic” result.

    It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that the seat has been won by a Conservative politician.

    Hartlepool
    Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the House of Commons. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)

    Previously it had only been held by Labour, at one point, a candidate who ran as an independent.

    The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.

    Also Read – Advantage Tories as Indians Turn Blue

    It is equally a blow for Labour party leader Keir Starmer, who has only been chief for a year.

    The win will make no difference to Johnson’s influence in the British parliament, however, as his party already holds a majority.

    The by-election was held on Thursday, the same day as local and mayoral elections across England, and votes for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.

    Also Read – Litmus Test for Labour as UK Goes To Poll

  • Cabinet 2.0: Will it be easy or tough for Pinarayi?

    Cabinet 2.0: Will it be easy or tough for Pinarayi?

    Vijayan entered the history books by leading the Left Democratic Front government to its second successive win when he increased his tally from 91 seats to 99…reports Asian Lite News

    The difficult task of winning the elections over, will Pinarayi Vijayan now have it easy or tough, as starting Thursday he begins talks for the composition of Version-2 Pinarayi cabinet.

    Vijayan entered the history books by leading the Left Democratic Front government to its second successive win when he increased his tally from 91 seats to 99 in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly.

    According to the rules the cabinet can have a maximum strength of 21 including the Chief Minister. There are three other posts which come with cabinet status — Assembly Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chief Whip.

    In the outgoing Vijayan cabinet the CPI-M had 12 Ministers and the Chief Minister’s post, the second biggest ally CPI had four ministers with one each for the Nationalist Congress Party, the Congress (S) and the Janata Dal (S).


    However this time the Left has given full fledged ally status to the Kerala Congress (B), the Indian National League (INL) besides two new allies who jumped the fence from the Congress led Opposition — Kerala Congress (Mani) and Loktantrik Janata Dal.

    Then there is Kovoor Kunjumon who has been a fellow traveller of the Left ever since he came from the UDF, ahead of the 2016 assembly polls and this time he won his fifth straight election.

    A media critic on condition of anonymity said that it may be tough for Vijayan to do the balancing act but Vijayan, given his now exalted status, should be able to finalise all the posts quickly.

    Also read:Pinarayi creates history, Mamata humbles BJP

    “All what now remains to be seen is, in his first outing his cabinet had 20 people, even when he could have added one more. If it’s going to be like last time, then all the allies will not be able to be accommodated. But if it has to take place, the CPI-M and the CPI will have to end up with lesser posts than in 2016, which can be tough, especially the CPI who might raise a hue and cry,” said the critic.

    In 2016, while the Speaker’s post was taken by the CPI-M, this time too it will be the same. The CPI got the Deputy Speaker’s and the Chief Whip’s posts.

    Meanwhile there are reports that veteran outgoing Minister Kadanapally Ramachandran, the lone Cong (S) legislator, who won again might be left out this time.

    But filmstar turned legislator KB Ganesh Kumar of the Kerala Cong( B) is in all likelihood to get the nod.

    The INL party and Kovoor Kunjumon have given letters to Vijayan that they should be considered when posts are decided.

    Later on Thursday, he along with his party leaders will have a one to one talk with the CPI and if the CPI agrees to sacrifice one cabinet post, then Vijayan will be able to run through the proceedings with the others smoothly. If not, then there will have to be further discussions.

    With the Covid pandemic raging in Kerala and the state in a semi-lockdown mode, Vijayan has decided to wait a while before the swearing in date is fixed. As things stand it could happen in the third week of May, hence, he will have enough time to wrap up talks with his allies.

    Also read:Pinarayi to bring back Kodiyeri very soon

  • Cong says it closed BJP’s account in Kerala

    Cong says it closed BJP’s account in Kerala

    He said his party would sit down and discuss and debate the poll debacle which saw the Vijayan government retain power and the Congress was left to bite the dust…reports Asian Lite News.

    Congress Lok Sabha member K. Muraleedharan who contested the Nemom assembly seat in the capital district, said here on Wednesday, he is proud that it was due to his party’s efforts that the BJP could not open its account in Kerala.

    Muraleedharan, son of legendary Congress leader K. Karunakaran was drafted to contest the assembly polls after widespread canards were spread by the ruling Left that it was the Congress that helped BJP open its account in 2016 when BJP veteran O. Rajagopal won the Nemom seat defeating V. Sivankutty of the CPI-M by less than 9,000 votes and the ally of the Congress, V. Surendran Pillai came a dismal third with just around 13,000 votes.

    “Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has now gone to town saying that the Congress and the BJP are hands in glove and if that was the case, the CPI-M would not have won from Nemom this time. But the truth is had I not got above 30,000 votes, BJP candidate would have won and since I secured this many votes, the CPI-M candidate won with a margin of 3,949 votes,” said Muraleedharan.

    “All the truths have now come out the BDJS- the second biggest ally of the BJP-led NDA has been silent and just see their total tally of votes in the state. In the 2016 polls, they secured over 4 percent votes, and this time it has fallen below 2 percent. Moreover, we did not get the support of the minority communities. All of us heard the Social Democratic Party of India (the political outfit of the Popular Front of India) stating that they had given their votes to the Left at Nemom,” added Muraleedharan.

    He said his party would sit down and discuss and debate the poll debacle which saw the Vijayan government retain power and the Congress was left to bite the dust.

    Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

    The Congress-led UDF saw its tally came down from 47 in 2016 to 41 in 2021.

    “The final outcome that has emerged after the polls here is that it has now become evidently clear that the CPI-M’s only agenda was to see the back of the Congress and for that, they effectively used the BJP. To cover up all that Vijayan is spreading canards that it was we who had the deal with the BJP. Time will prove everything and none should forget West Bengal which they ruled for over three decades is not there anymore and in the recent elections they were with us,” added Muraleedharan.

    Also Read-Kerala locks down till May 16

    Read More-Kerala’s oxygen war rooms ready for Covid fight

  • Lawmakers in KP charged for attacking medics

    Lawmakers in KP charged for attacking medics

    The FIR has been registered under section 186, 506, 427 and 341 of Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants from discharge of their duty…reports Asian Lite News

    Police have booked two sitting lawmakers for storming Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) and attacking doctors and nurses there during protests that took place after a boy who sustained gun wounds died at the hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, recently, Dawn reported.

    The first information report (FIR) has been registered at Hayatabad police station against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Nighat Orakzai and Shafiq Sher Afridi, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) member from Khyber tribal district.

    The FIR has been registered under section 186, 506, 427 and 341 of Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants from discharge of their duty, criminal intimidation, mischief, causing damage to property and wrongful restraint.

    According to Dawn, both the lawmakers have been booked in connection with protests and subsequent rioting that took place after a young boy from Khyber who had sustained gun wounds died at the hospital on April 30.

    Doctors at HMC have been on strike for the last two days to press the authorities to implement KP Healthcare Services Providers and Facilities (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2020 and improve security of the health facilities.

    The FIR, which has been registered following a complaint by HMC hospital director Dr Faisal Shazad, said that a 15-year-old boy from Khyber was brought to the hospital with a bullet wound on April 30.

    It said that doctors at the casualty provided the best care to the injured and neurosurgery doctors were also called to assist them during the treatment; however, the boy died of his wound during the treatment.

    It said that the patient’s attendants resorted to rioting soon after coming out of hospital’s casualty and blocked main road leading to the casualty from both sides.

    It said that the mob also stopped hospital ambulances from entering the emergency gate and blocked casualty and roughed up doctors and nurses and took them hostage, Dawn reported.

    The FIR said that later the mob pelted stones at the hospital on the instigation of both MPAs and both of them tried to save the armed attackers from police. It said that both the lawmakers also engaged in a physical brawl with the police personnel as well. (ANI)

    Also read:Pakistan Generals worried that India may bond with Taliban

  • Pak PM’s ‘accountability’ drive sought to settle political score

    Pak PM’s ‘accountability’ drive sought to settle political score

    From hasty decisions to putting Nawaz’s children Maryam and Shahbaz behind bars without any solid evidence, Imran Khan and his backers have also sought to settle political scores with the PML-N, writes Imad Zafar

    The ‘accountability’ witch-hunt initiated by Prime Minister Imran Khan was always a farce with a clear motive to remove former premier Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    From hasty decisions to putting Nawaz’s children Maryam and Shahbaz behind bars without any solid evidence, Imran Khan and his backers have also sought to settle political scores with the PML-N, writes Imad Zafar for Asia Times.

    According to retired director-general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Bashir Memon, Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to pressure him to charge Maryam, Khawaja Asif, and Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

    Memon had enjoyed a good reputation while serving in the police and FIA and took early retirement as a protest against the “accountability” drive and cited the reason as undue pressure from Khan and his aides to arrest opposition members.

    The serious allegations have led to mere protestations in the media and sending a defamation notice to Memon, Asia Times reported.

    Memon has retracted his statement regarding Khan asking him to file a case against Isa but remained firm that he was asked to book PML-N members.

    It has been seen in Pakistan’s history that those with political views dissenting from the establishment or its puppet political parties are held accountable or declared traitors. This was notable in the case since the rule of General Ayub Khan, writes Zafar.

    Also read:Pakistan to produce China’s vaccine

    The question remains as to who will restore the credibility of the accountability courts, and who will be held responsible for sending politicians to jail for no reason but to rig the political discourse.

    Though the propaganda supported by the establishment and controlled media resulted in character assassination of Nawaz and his aides, it sent Pakistan into self-inflicted political and economic turmoil.

    Ishaq Dar, who played a major role in economic reforms and raised the annualized growth of the country’s economy to 5.28 per cent, was booked for not filing proper income-tax returns, writes Asia Times.

    Meanwhile, Memon also alleged that Imran Khan asked him to book Khawaja Asif in a treason case and to book Maryam Nawaz in a terrorism case, which tells a lot about the intolerant mindset of the current PM and his backers.

    The “accountability” farce has only installed the inept government of Imran Khan’s government at the helm of affairs, a regime that knows only to bash political opponents and dissenting journalists and judges, wrote Zafar.

    The Pakistani journalist further said that had the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) not been created to play the religious card against the PML-N and to reduce its vote bank, the recent violent protests against the French ambassador would not have taken place that put Pakistan in another awkward situation in Europe.

    Pakistan’s Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz as Prime Minister after an inquiry into the 2016 Panama Papers linked his family to offshore companies. (ANI)

    Also read:Poverty in Pakistan linked to rising cases of child marriage

  • Trinamool wins back confidence in Junglemahal

    Trinamool wins back confidence in Junglemahal

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, all the seats in Junglemahal, including Purulia, Medinipur, Bishnupur in Bankura and Jhargram went to the BJP….reports Asian Lite News

    An aggressive presence of Trinamool Congress in the Junglemahal seats took the air out of BJP’s sail in the recently concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal in which the ruling party cruised to a landslide victory.

    In the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was ahead in all the 40 Assembly segments in the Junglemahal area comprising four districts — Purulia, Bankura, Paschim Medinipur and Jhargam.

    However, this time the Trinamool has snatched 25 seats from the saffron brigade, proclaiming that it has been successful in winning back the confidence of the tribal population of the region.

    Junglemahal comprises 40 seats of which 16 are in Paschim Medinipur, 12 in Bankura, 9 in Purulia and 4 in Jhargram. Of these 40 seats, 15 are reserved for SC and ST.

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, all the seats in Junglemahal, including Purulia, Medinipur, Bishnupur in Bankura and Jhargram went to the BJP.

    However, this time, out of the 40 Assembly seats, the Trinamool bagged 24, while the BJP won 16, which was a major setback for the saffron party, as Junglemahal is considered to be an electoral swing region in Bengal.

    A closer analysis of the seats shows that Trinamool bagged all the four seats in Jhargram, 13 out of 15 seats in Paschim Medinipur, 3 out of 9 seats in Purulia and 4 out of 12 seats in Bankura.

    Also read:Mamata meets Governor after landslide victory

    Though the BJP’s performance has been relatively better in Bankura and Purulia, but in the other two districts it couldn’t make a mark at all.

    Interestingly enough, of these 40 seats, 15 belonged to the reserved category. The Trinamool has managed to win 9 out of these 15 seats, leaving the impression that the tribal people have started migrating to the ruling party.

    The people who deserted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and believed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi seem to have started flocking back to the ruling Trinamool Congress. This is perhaps Banerjee’s greatest success that was evident in the landslide victory of her party in the Assembly polls.

    Bihar BJP workers .

    It has become evident that unlike in some other constituencies in the Bengal polls, the BJP’s Hindutva push did not prove effective among the tribal community mainly dominated by the Santhals and the Kurmis in the Junglemahal region.

    The results declared on May 2 revealed a poll debacle for the BJP in Junglemahal, while the party’s internal assessment revealed that a majority of the Santhal vote share, which was its biggest base in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, shifted to the Trinamool this time.

    On the other hand, Banerjee tried to reach to the doorsteps of the tribal people who are hungry for love and respect. Her social welfare schemes like Swasthya Sathi, Duare Sarkar and Khadya Sathi providing rice at Rs 2 per kg throughout the year seem to have satisfied the basic needs of these underprivileged people. Also, the party workers were told to reach out to these people so that they could speak about their grievances, a ploy which worked wonders for the party.

    “If you respect them, they will shower everything on you. This is exactly what we did in Junglemahal. We listened to their grievances and fulfilled their demands with full dignity. We tried to understand the problems they faced over the past decade.

    “Most of them demanded that they want to become self-reliant and alleged that they were finding it difficult to avail the government schemes as there was no one to guide them. We formed a body comprising representatives of 13 tribal communities, including Kurmi, Santhal, Lodha, Sabar, Mahali, Munda and others, so that their problems could be addressed,” said a senior Trinamool leader.

    Also read:Giant killer Mamata’s tryst with three dates


  • Ramesh alleges CPI-M, BJP of cutting deals

    Ramesh alleges CPI-M, BJP of cutting deals

    The BJP vote percentage saw a fall from 15.01 per cent in the 2016 Assembly polls to 12.47 per cent after votes were counted on Sunday to the 140-member Kerala Assembly….reports Asian Lite News

    Hours after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that there was large scale trading of votes between the Congress and the BJP, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday hit back, saying the deal was between the CPI-M and the BJP in 69 seats.

    Chennithala said that Vijayan’s statement, soon after returning from his home town in Kannur, to the media in the state capital that the deal was between the Congress and the BJP was “meant to fool people and was taking anticipatory bail to suppress the real truth”.

    “If one looks into the figures, it was the Congress which prevented the BJP from surging forward and because of that, they could not win the lone seat that they won for the first time in the state at Nemom in 2016. In seats like Manjeswaram and Palakkad, it was the Congress which prevented the BJP from winning,” he contended.

    The BJP vote percentage saw a fall from 15.01 per cent in the 2016 Assembly polls to 12.47 per cent after votes were counted on Sunday to the 140-member Kerala Assembly.

    LDF CPI-M workers celebrate party’s performance

    The Left secured 99 seats, while the Congress-led UDF could manage only 41 seats and the BJP drew a blank.

    Vijayan had alleged that the Congress-led UDF would have lost 10 more seats if the secret deal was not there with the BJP and also that the BJP lost their votes in 90 seats as compared to the 2016 polls.

    Chennithala, however, said: “In the three seats at Nemom, Palakkad and Manjeswaram, it was because of the performance of the Congress that the victory of BJP was prevented and the votes of the CPI-M in these constituencies, compared to the 2016 polls, had come down and the votes of the Congress had gone up.”

    Also read:Kerala Polls: Advantage LDF as Congress Withers

    Had the Congress won lesser votes, the BJP would have won at Nemom, but since the vote share of the Congress grew, the CPI-M won, he added.

    At Palakkad and Manjeswaram, it was the Congress which won.

    “This time, the BJP got 4,35,606 votes and it was 3.71 per cent less than what they got in 2016. This decreased vote share was the deal and as a result in 69 constituencies, the Left benefitted. At the Kalamassery seat, the BJP candidate got 13,065 votes less votes than in 2016 and hence the CPI-M candidate P. Rajeev won. At Kuttanadu, the ally of the BJP got 18,098 votes less than in 2016 and the direct beneficiary was the Left candidate,” said Chennithala.

    He listed out many other constituencies where the “BJP-CPI-M deal was in place”.

    UDF

    “With this, it has now come out true what Balasankar, the former editor of RSS mouthpiece, before the elections said that there was a secret deal between the BJP and the CPI-M .Moreover just look into the fate of the various scams like gold smuggling and dollar smuggling and see those cases all have gone into the freezer, as this was part of the deal as the BJP’s sole agenda is ‘Congress Mukt-Bharat’,” Chennithala added.

    State BJP President K. Surendran, however, dismissed all the theories of deal and trade as humbug.

    “The truth is the BJP has lost the one seat it had and the vote share also has come down. I am fully responsible for the set back and am prepared to take whatever the party says. The real reason for this verdict is there was a consolidation of minority votes to the Left. Our party will sit down and find out what went wrong and corrective measures would be taken. Even though we do not have a representation inside the assembly, we will be there outside,” he asserted.

    Also read:Pinarayi leads LDF to historic win in Kerala

  • Pinarayi to bring back Kodiyeri very soon

    Pinarayi to bring back Kodiyeri very soon

    Balakrishnan has been facing the wrath of a section in his party and from other quarters, because of his two sons…reports Asian Lite News

    After leading the CPI-M led Left Front to a resounding second successive term, Pinarayi Vijayan is now all set to bring back Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who last year was given an ‘honourable’ exit by asking him to go on leave for his medical treatment, though the real reason was otherwise.

    Balakrishnan has been facing the wrath of a section in his party and from other quarters, because of his two sons. His younger son Bineesh Kodiyeri was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate-Bengaluru unit, soon after his friend was picked up by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

    On October 29, Bineesh was arrested and even now he is in a jail in Bengaluru. Balakrishnan’s elder son Binoy Kodiyeri is also caught in a case and the final verdict from a court in Mumbai is yet to come after a woman from Bihar went to the court stating that her son’s father is Binoy.

    On account of these two serious issues, the CPI-M in November last year gave Balakrishnan leave as he was undergoing treatment for cancer, and brought in Left Democratic Front convenor A.Vijayaraghavan as acting Secretary of the party.

    Incidentally, Vijayan and Balakrishnan both come from Kannur — the cradle of the Communist movement and hence they have a very healthy relation.

    In the CPI-M, all know that there exists a Kannur lobby and the rest are known as the non-Kannur lobby. All along it has been the Kannur lobby which has had the upper edge in the party when it comes to party posts and also when cabinet portfolios are distributed.

    Also read:‘BJP’s North Indian strategy won’t work in Kerala’

    However, a dent has appeared in the Kannur lobby after the party decision that two-time MLAs cannot get a third term. Another Kannur strongman E.P.Jayarajan (State Industries Minister), who was the number two in the first Vijayan cabinet, has been sulking on account of this decision which came as a shocker to him.

    A media critic said there has been an aberration in the Kannur lobby which took place after E.P.Jayarajan was denied the seat on the grounds of the new norm and another Kannur powerhouse P.Jayarajan, despite not falling under the norm was also denied.

    “This caused heartburns in the rank and file also. But Vijayan played his game by holding the cards close to his chest and brought in M.V. Govindan, another top Kannur leader and he contested and won and is all set to get a key portfolio. It’s here that Vijayan, who has stamped his authority will in all likelihood bring back Balakrishnan and it’s expected to happen very soon,” said the critic.

    Incidentally, Balakrishnan became the CPI-M state secretary for the first time at the 21st state party conference held at Alappuzha in 2015, when he replaced Vijayan who was at the helm for a record 17 years.

    In 2018, he was given a second term and on account of the Covid pandemic and the Assembly polls, the 23rd state party conference was postponed. And, now it’s going to be held soon and according to sources, Balakrishnan, before the dates of the conference are announced, will return and take over as the Secretary. Sources say that it will be under him that the event will take place and in all likelihood, he will get a final term, as according to the rules of the party, none can stay beyond three terms.

    So all these moves show that both the government and the party are firmly under the control of Vijayan and he will be the last word after the successful election.

    Also read:Pinarayi creates history, Mamata humbles BJP