Ashwini and the BJP expect to give a tough fight to the traditional rivals…reports Asian Lite News
With the filing of nominations beginning on Thursday for seats going to Lok Sabha polls in Kerala , actor-turned-politician, Mukesh of the CPI(M) and ML Ashwini of the BJP filed their papers at their respective constituencies.
Kerala goes to the polls on April 26 to elect all its 20 Lok Sabha members.
Actor Mukesh a sitting legislator from Kollam Assembly constituency has been fielded on the Kollam Lok Sabha seat and he is pitted against four-time sitting MP, NK Premachandran of the RSP and TV actor Krishnakumar of the BJP.
Premachandran won the 2019 polls trouncing the present state Finance Minister, KN Balagopal by a margin of over 1.48 lakh votes.
Mukesh on Thursday morning, accompanied by the top brass of the CPI(M) and other Left leaders arrived before the district Returning Officer and filed his nomination.
At Kasargod, the BJP’s representative at the Manjeshwar block panchayat, Ashwini, who is a popular woman leader, filed her nomination.
She, too, was accompanied by a good number of NDA leaders.
Ashwini and the BJP expect to give a tough fight to the traditional rivals.
However, figures from the 2019 polls show that the BJP will have to work wonders if they are to put up a fight as their candidate managed to get 1.76 lakh votes, while the winner and the runner up got more than four lakh votes.
In 2019 again CM Vijayan and his close aides tried their best to prevent Premachandran from winning and brought in the then young turk and present State Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal. But Premachandran again won with a margin of over 1.48 lakh votes…reports Asian Lite News
The Kollam Lok Sabha seat in Kerala will see a fight between two-time sitting MP, who is aiming for a hat-trick and film star-turned-politician Mukesh. Mukesh is a two-time CPI(M) legislator and has acted in many Malayalam films.
The sitting MP, N.K. Premachandran belongs to the Revolutionary Socialist Party and is considered to be an archrival of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after he switched from Left to the Congress-led UDF.
Premachandran was one of the most popular State Ministers in the cabinet of CPI(M) leader V.S. Achuthanandan (2006-11), but soon after the Oommen Chandy-led Congress government took over in 2011, a big section of the RSP, including Premachandran, joined as an ally of the Congress which irked CM Vijayan and other CPI(M) leaders.
Premachandran was also a member of the Lok Sabha from Kollam in 1996 and 1998, then as an ally of the Left. In 2014 he was fielded by the Congress from Kollam, and CPI(M) had one of its then stalwarts, state Minister and present politburo member M.A. Baby. The former won with a margin of over 37,000 votes.
In 2019 again CM Vijayan and his close aides tried their best to prevent Premachandran from winning and brought in the then young turk and present State Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal. But Premachandran again won with a margin of over 1.48 lakh votes.
Now for the third time CM Vijayan and his team will try to defeat him. This time the Left has brought film actor-turned-politician and two-time legislator representing the Kollam Assembly constituency, Mukesh to stop Premachandran from winning again.
Incidentally, the BJP, which is yet to announce their candidate, is eyeing TV star Krishnakumar to add glamour to the Kollam contest.
The BJP candidate at the 2019 polls managed around 1.03 lakh votes. Hence this time too the main battle is going to be between Premachandran and Mukesh.
Premachandran, through his soft and polite behavior, is a popular MP for the Congress-led opposition. Tongues, however, began to wag, when he was asked to join lunch which was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with another eight MPs during the last session of Parliament.
“I fail to understand the manner in which the CPI(M) spread canards against me as they have nothing else to say,” said Premachandran after speculation surfaced that he might shift loyalties.
The biggest advantage that Mukesh is banking on is the CPI(M)’s win in all the seven Assembly segments, including his own. That win has made the Left sure of victory this time, but the Congress is confident of the hat-trick.
Kerala readies for polls with over 3.7 lakh first-time voters
Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said on Wednesday that as of March 18, the state has 2,72,80,160 voters, including 1,40,95,250 women and 1,31,84,573 men.
The 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala go to the polls in the second phase on April 26.
“Of this, there are 2,49,960 voters above the age of 85 and there are 2,999 who are aged 100 or above. There are 3,70,933 first-time voters besides 88,384 NRI voters,” said Kaul and added that they are busy in including more people who have not enrolled so far. The last date for it is March 25.
He said there will be 25,177 polling booths and 181 auxiliary booths and of these 2,776 will be model polling booths.
“As many as 555 polling booths will be manned by all-women teams, while youths will manage 100 and 10 booths will be managed by physically challenged poll officials,” stated Kaul.
He said that people can bring to the notice of the poll authorities if they find any violation of the model code of conduct through the cVigil app and action will be taken in 100 minutes.
“Our officials will be taking action against violation of the model code of conduct with regard to the campaign on social media, using artificial intelligence,” said Kaul.
From its humble beginnings with a single store in Bahrain in 1973, Micky Jagtiani was the driving force in shaping the conglomerate’s extraordinary journey…reports Asian Lite News
The Landmark Group today announced that its eminent Founder and Chairman, Mukesh “Micky” Jagtiani, has passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family.
Micky Jagtiani leaves behind a formidable legacy of a leading family-owned business conglomerate in the GCC region and beyond, that he founded and managed for several decades. Renowned for his exceptional leadership, unwavering customer-centric approach, and deep market understanding, his visionary spirit and strategic foresight helped the Landmark Group and its brands become a household name in the community. He will always be known for his inspiring leadership and even more so, for his humility and genuine concern towards all the lives he touched.
Today, we mourn the loss of Micky Jagtiani, the founder of Landmark Group and a integral part of Dubai’s success story. His philanthropic legacy and contributions to the UAE's economy and society over the last three decades will be remembered forever. We extend our heartfelt… pic.twitter.com/bygUYDwOiL
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) May 26, 2023
From its humble beginnings with a single store in Bahrain in 1973, Micky Jagtiani was the driving force in shaping the conglomerate’s extraordinary journey. His strategic acumen enabled the Landmark Group to emerge as the region’s foremost retail and hospitality conglomerate, with over 2,200 stores in 21 countries across the Middle East and Africa, as well as the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia.
He is fondly remembered by his family – his wife- Renuka, his children – Aarti & Savitar, Nisha & Kabir, and Rahul, his grandchildren Samar, Nikhil, Yohan and Aliya – and his beloved Landmark Group community. He leaves behind enduring friendships, partnerships, and bonds with the Group’s senior management, the industry and wider community, whose lives he touched profoundly.
The Landmark Group remains committed to carrying forward his spirit and ensuring the continuing success of his ambitions and dreams A public condolence gathering is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 29th 2023. Further details to be shared.
