Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday arrived at the Kannur Collectorate to submit his nomination to the Dharmadom Assembly constituency in his home turf-Kannur . Arriving from the party office, Vijayan was accompanied by his trusted close aide M.V. Jayarajan and senior CPI leader C.N. Chandran. Dressed in Covid protocol, Vijayan and the other two had gloves and masks besides the head gear. After handing over the two sets of nomination papers, he got up and read out his pledge and sat down again. And after putting his signature to numerous papers, he left without speaking to the media and drove away for his campaign in his constituency.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and seven of his cabinet colleagues were among the 83 candidates announced by the CPI(M) headed ruling LDF for the state assembly polls, while 33 sitting MLAs, including Thomas Isaac have been left out in line with the party s two-term criteria. The 33 MLAs will not be contesting this time, as the party gave seats to several new faces in an effort to reach out to the youngsters and women. Vijayan, who has been fielded once again fromDharmadam in Kannur, has already hit the campaign trail,aiming a second consecutive term for the lone left bastion in the country.
The JD(S) on Tuesday announced the list of four candidates for the April 6 Assembly polls in Kerala.
Kerala State JD(S) President Mathew T Thomas is among the candidates whom the party has fielded and he will be contesting from Thiruvalla assembly seat. The other three are Dr Neela Lohithadassa Nadar from Kovalam, K Krishnan Kutty from Chittur, and Jose Thettayil from Ankamali. In a letter to Thomas, JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda said as the national president of the party he has approved the candidates contesting for the coming assembly elections on the party symbol A Lady Farmer carrying Paddy on her Head .
Ahead of the Kerala Assembly polls, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said that the seat-sharing agreement between the parties in the United Democratic Front (UDF) will be finalised within a day. Seat sharing talks are progressing. We are on the last lap. We will finalise the list by today or tomorrow, he said. For candidates list, the screening committee will meet and go to Delhi for the Central Election Committee (meet), he said on seat sharing and candidates announcement for the State Assembly polls. UDF led by Congress comprises of Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Revolutionary Socialist Party, and a variety of other smaller parties. The front is a part of the United Progressive Alliance at the national level.
The Karnataka government will not allow Tamil Nadu to use surplus water from the inter-state Cauvery river and will take strong measures to protect the state s interests, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Monday, amid concerns regarding river interlinking project being undertaken by neighbouring state. While the state government has decided to file objections before the Centre against the project, opposition parties in Karnataka-Congress and JD(S)-too opposed Tamil Nadu s move. The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday laid the foundation for the first phase of the Rs 14,400 crore Cauvery-Vaigai-Gundar river interlinking project, aimed at diverting over 6,000 cubic ft of surplus water to drier areas in southern districts.