Jose K. Mani interview | ‘Primary focus of INDIA bloc is to articulate a narrative against BJP’
8 months, 1 week ago

Jose K. Mani interview | ‘Primary focus of INDIA bloc is to articulate a narrative against BJP’

The Hindu  

Jose K. Mani, chairman of the Kerala Congress, a constituent of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala, also serves as one of the campaign managers of the INDIA bloc at the national level. The KC is locked in a tight fight with Kerala Congress, which is part of the United Democratic Front, to retain the Kottayam seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Edited excerpts: The electoral fight between the constituent parties of the INDIA bloc in States such as Kerala has faced severe criticism from the National Democratic Alliance. Hasn’t this extensive migration significantly diminished the traditional voter base of Kerala Congress parties?

India Kerala Church States Congress Party State Bjp Udf Kottayam Ldf Mani Rubber India Bloc Kerala Congress  state  primary  kerala  states  party  kcm  india  bjp  congress  narrative  interview  mani  k  bloc  jose  kottayam  rubber  focus

History of this topic

Waqf Land: Can BJP Leverage the Issue to Win Over Christian Voters in Kerala?
4 days, 10 hours ago

Waqf Land: Can BJP Leverage the Issue to Win Over Christian Voters in Kerala?

The Quint  

It is to be recalled that the lone electoral victory the BJP has won in Kerala in the recent past is one of actor Suresh Gopi in the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, where Christian vote share was much higher than other minority communities. For its efforts, the BJP had its first dividend in the bye-election of Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad …

Could BJP infighting in Kerala dash its Palakkad bypoll win hopes?
1 month, 1 week ago

Could BJP infighting in Kerala dash its Palakkad bypoll win hopes?

India Today  

With campaigning for by-elections to the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and Chelakkara Assembly seat coming to an end, the focus has now shifted to the Palakkad Assembly seat in Kerala. BJP'S LITMUS TEST IN PALAKKAD Palakkad will witness a three-way contest between BJP candidate C Krishnakumar, Congress's Rahul Mamkootathil and Left Democratic Front’s P Sarin. Krishnakumar is no electoral novice; …

Catholic Church's Stance on Munambam Sparks Political Showdown
Trending News
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Catholic Church's Stance on Munambam Sparks Political Showdown

The Hindu  

The Catholic Church's firm stance on the land dispute at Munambam has put the political parties, particularly those relying on Catholic votes from central Travancore, on an overdrive to calm the raging concerns. The Kerala Congress (M) finds itself in a difficult position as the Church remains displeased with the party too for its role in adopting a unanimous Assembly …

The stakes are high for Kerala Congress (Mani)
6 months, 2 weeks ago

The stakes are high for Kerala Congress (Mani)

The Hindu  

The Kerala Congress has won the Kottayam Lok Sabha seat. A big loss Meanwhile, as Kerala Congress reels from its defeat in the Kottayam Lok Sabha seat, speculations are rife about its future within the Left Democratic Front. The emphasis on the plight of rubber growers — the core political agenda of Kerala Congress — has failed to disturb the …

Will Suresh Gopi's victory change the political landscape of Kerala?
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Will Suresh Gopi's victory change the political landscape of Kerala?

New Indian Express  

Once the tension and travails of the just-concluded 18th Lok Sabha elections are over, the big question that awaits political analysts will be the future of the bipolar coalition system in Kerala and its consequent impact on Indian politics. Is the Bharatiya Janata Party poised for growth in Kerala, a state which remained isolated from the Hindutva march in Indian …

Watch | Why Lok Sabha polls in Kerala have attracted national attention
7 months, 4 weeks ago

Watch | Why Lok Sabha polls in Kerala have attracted national attention

The Hindu  

The battle for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, known for its bipolar politics, always choosing between the Congress-led United Front and the CPI-led Left Front, has attracted national attention this time for a variety of reasons. Firstly, as these two entities battle it out in Kerala this time, they have a seat-sharing arrangement elsewhere in the country as …

Lok Sabha polls | Pinarayi Vijayan says both BJP and Congress are ‘anti-Kerala’
8 months ago

Lok Sabha polls | Pinarayi Vijayan says both BJP and Congress are ‘anti-Kerala’

The Hindu  

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the Bharatiya Janata Party has an “anti-Kerala” approach and the reason may be that “the State does not accept them.” Speaking at the ‘Meet the Leader’ event organised by the Kannur Press Club on April 23, Mr. Vijayan said “the people of Kerala did not accept them yesterday, they will neither accept them …

Central Kerala in for an exciting contest
8 months ago

Central Kerala in for an exciting contest

The Hindu  

Central Kerala is witnessing some exciting political contests as electioneering has entered the final phase in the State. Stakes are high for political parties as well as candidates in the fray in the seven Lok Sabha constituencies falling under the central Kerala region. The Lok Sabha seats in central Kerala hold a special place for Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, the …

INDIA bloc partners trade blows in Kerala as BJP seeks to queer the pitch
8 months ago

INDIA bloc partners trade blows in Kerala as BJP seeks to queer the pitch

The Hindu  

It is raining promises in the unusually hot summer of April in Kerala as campaigning for the Lok Sabha election has reached a crescendo. The United Democratic Front led by the Congress and the Left Democratic Front led by the CPI — arch rivals in Kerala but allies in the INDIA bloc elsewhere, including fallen Communist citadels West Bengal and …

Shrinking footprint of the Congress party
8 months, 1 week ago

Shrinking footprint of the Congress party

Hindustan Times  

The upcoming general elections are a watershed moment for the Congress. The party is set to contest in less than or around 300 Lok Sabha seats, its lowest ever tally since 1952: The lowest so far has been 417 in 2004. The fall in tally also suggests that the party has finally admitted to its decline and recognises the need …

Lok Sabha Polls: BJP's Forward March in Kerala 'Gimmick' or Dent in Existing Left-Congress Politics?
8 months, 1 week ago

Lok Sabha Polls: BJP's Forward March in Kerala 'Gimmick' or Dent in Existing Left-Congress Politics?

News 18  

The Kerala-connect by the saffron brigade has come a long way in the last year – from The Kerala Story, a movie based on alleged religious conversions of women from the southern state, and ‘Sneha Yatra’ to Prime Minister Modi’s repeated visits and his decision to host the Christian community’s leader at his residence. Local politicians cutting across party lines …

BJP’s attempts to poach CPI(M) discontents in Kerala remains an elusive holy grail
9 months ago

BJP’s attempts to poach CPI(M) discontents in Kerala remains an elusive holy grail

The Hindu  

The Bharatiya Janata Party ‘s Kerala unit has attracted a motley crew of disaffected Congress leaders and workers to its fold. The BJP’s Kerala in-charge, Prakash Javadekar, put the political rumour mill on overdrive by hosting S. Rajendran, former CPI legislator from Idukki district, at the party’s national headquarters in New Delhi on March 20. However, of late, Mr. Rajendran …

The fight for minority votes in Kerala
9 months ago

The fight for minority votes in Kerala

The Hindu  

The Communist Party of India and the Congress are fighting for Christian and Muslim votes in Kerala. The Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, an influential Sunni organisation, and the Latin Catholic Church have expressed their worry about the divisive politics playing out in the country. In an attempt to outpace the Congress in its minority outreach, the CPI announced last week …

Padmaja’s defection affects Congress in Kerala more symbolically than organisationally
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Padmaja’s defection affects Congress in Kerala more symbolically than organisationally

The Hindu  

Congress leader K. Padmaja Venugopal’s headline-grabbing political migration to the Bharatiya Janata Party has arguably been more of a propaganda blow than an organisational setback to the party in Kerala. Nevertheless, the Congress reportedly felt that Ms. Venugopal’s somewhat unexpected and radical shifting of political allegiance had transiently obscured the party’s patently secular messaging at the hustings. Secondly, Ms. Venugopal’s …

Kerala Cong launches protest against policies of LDF, Centre
10 months, 1 week ago

Kerala Cong launches protest against policies of LDF, Centre

Hindustan Times  

Kochi: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress in Kerala launched a mega statewide protest on Friday aiming to puncture holes in the policies of the CPI-led state government and the BJP-led union government. Titled ‘Samaragni’, the statewide march was inaugurated by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal in the northernmost Kasaragod district and will be led by state Congress …

CPI(M) in Kerala says Congress’s ambivalence about attending Ayodhya Ram temple consecration will subvert secular ideal of INDIA bloc
11 months, 3 weeks ago

CPI(M) in Kerala says Congress’s ambivalence about attending Ayodhya Ram temple consecration will subvert secular ideal of INDIA bloc

The Hindu  

A meeting of the Communist Party of India State secretariat on December 29 reportedly drew a bleak political inference that the Congress’s alleged ambivalence about attending the consecration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya would subvert the anti-Hindutva politics that lay at the secular heart of the broad anti-Bharatiya Janata Party INDIA bloc. Govindan said the Congress’s backsliding on secularism, …

Political Line | The battle is in the Hindi belt. Rahul Gandhi can’t fight it in Kerala
1 year ago

Political Line | The battle is in the Hindi belt. Rahul Gandhi can’t fight it in Kerala

The Hindu  

The victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in three heartland States of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh in the recent Assembly elections has renewed the question of the Congress’s viability in straight contests against the BJP in the Hindi belt. The very idea of OBC empowerment got entangled with allegations of corruption, dynastic politics and misrule, and monopolised by a …

The role of the Church in Kerala’s politics
1 year, 2 months ago

The role of the Church in Kerala’s politics

Hindustan Times  

Bins Abraham owns a 12-acre rubber plantation in Erattupetta, a plantation town nestled in the foothills of the Western Ghats. Though the term “love jihad” was coined by Right-wing Hindu groups in 2007, the Catholic Church in Kerala began to use it as an instrument to discourage inter-religious marriages. In January 2020, the synod or highest administrative body of Syro-Malabar …

'No amount of false propaganda can undo real Kerala story'
1 year, 7 months ago

'No amount of false propaganda can undo real Kerala story'

New Indian Express  

Alongside the Karnataka polls, bye-elections were held to two Assembly seats in UP, one in Odisha and a Parliament seat in Punjab. In most of the states, like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra etc., the Congress is either completely absent or is present only marginally. What would be the Opposition strategy in …

What are the future implications of the Congress victory for Karnataka politics?
1 year, 7 months ago

What are the future implications of the Congress victory for Karnataka politics?

The Hindu  

Published : May 17, 2023 16:54 IST - 10 MINS READ The verdict of the Legislative Assembly election in Karnataka is largely a mandate against the BJP’s politics of centralisation and communal polarisation and its model of exclusionary economic development. The election also saw civil society organisations of various hues coming together under the banner of Eddelu Karnataka to spread …

If ‘The Kerala Story’ Was a Work of Pure ‘Fiction’, Liberal-Secular-Islamists Won’t Have Felt So Insecure - News18
1 year, 7 months ago

If ‘The Kerala Story’ Was a Work of Pure ‘Fiction’, Liberal-Secular-Islamists Won’t Have Felt So Insecure - News18

News 18  

It is said that 2014 was a landmark year in Indian politics because it ushered in a movement that eventually caused a decisive shift in the ‘Overton window’. According to her, the “main elements of the strategy” include the reduction of women “to the status of reproductive machines for the purpose of demographic transformation”, taking “advantage of the focus on …

As BJP Woos Kerala Church, What Does Christian Leaders' Meet With Modi Indicate?
1 year, 7 months ago

As BJP Woos Kerala Church, What Does Christian Leaders' Meet With Modi Indicate?

The Quint  

“There is growing anxiety over what is being perceived as stagnation of Christian population in the state. Among Catholic churches there are those which have promised incentives for married couples who would want more than one or two children,” a church elder of a prominent church in Kozhikode told The Quint on condition of anonymity. While demographically, there is no …

BJP’s Christian outreach in Kerala leaves Congress and CPI(M) watchful
1 year, 8 months ago

BJP’s Christian outreach in Kerala leaves Congress and CPI(M) watchful

The Hindu  

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s active outreach to the Christian community has seemingly put the Congress and Communist Party of India on their guard. Satheesan said the BJP leaders called on Bishops on Easter Sunday to camouflage the Sangh Parivar’s “crimes” against Christians and other minorities. Govindan said the “pro-BJP statements” from two Church leaders in Kerala contrasted starkly with the …

Kerala CM Reacts to Bishop’s ‘Pro BJP’ Message, Says Communal Agenda Won't Work in State
1 year, 9 months ago

Kerala CM Reacts to Bishop’s ‘Pro BJP’ Message, Says Communal Agenda Won't Work in State

News 18  

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday reacted to a statement by an Arch Bishop of the Roman Catholic church in Thalassery, Mar Joseph Pamplani which led to a political showdown in the state. The Archbishop had said, “The believers of the church will help the BJP to elect its first MP from the state if the union government raises the …

BJP Govt in Kerala? Congress, Left Dub PM Modi’s Claim as ‘Far-fetched Dream’
1 year, 9 months ago

BJP Govt in Kerala? Congress, Left Dub PM Modi’s Claim as ‘Far-fetched Dream’

News 18  

Two major political players in Kerala– Congress-led United Democratic Front and CPI-led Left Democratic Front – have dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the BJP will form the state as a “far-fetched dream”. Addressing BJP workers following the party’s win in the northeast, PM Modi on Thursday said Kerala will also have a government of BJP and its allies …

Karnataka being turned into communal laboratory, says Pinarayi Vijayan
2 years, 3 months ago

Karnataka being turned into communal laboratory, says Pinarayi Vijayan

The Hindu  

Expressing concern that communal forces are bringing a bad name to Karnataka as the society is being communalised, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said that Karnataka is being turned into a communal laboratory like some North Indian States. Progressive thinkers have been sacrificed in the textbook revision process,” Mr. Vijayan, speaking extensively on communal forces in Karnataka and …

Party Wants Either Muslims or Christians on Its Side to Crack Kerala Conundrum - News18
2 years, 7 months ago

Party Wants Either Muslims or Christians on Its Side to Crack Kerala Conundrum - News18

News 18  

From just seven states in 2014 to 17 states in 2022, the BJP footprint has grown beyond traditional strongholds to conquer new forts like the Northeast. In Part 5 of the series, we assess the BJP’s tactics to establish itself as a serious electoral contender in Kerala where tangible success still eludes it due to unique demographic challenges. He then …

What a list says about the state of the Congress party in Kerala
3 years, 4 months ago

What a list says about the state of the Congress party in Kerala

India Today  

On August 14 the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee submitted a list of new presidents to the party high command in New Delhi for each of the state’s 14 districts. The list, Congress leaders say, is symbolic of the party’s drift in in Kerala, which had ruled the state for 33 years, since it was formed in November 1956. Who will …

For the BJP, the post-poll challenge
3 years, 6 months ago

For the BJP, the post-poll challenge

Hindustan Times  

Electoral defeats are hard. During a campaign, a party invests all its energy, resources, networks and organisational might in securing victory, vote by vote, polling booth by polling booth, constituency by constituency. In Kerala, the party faces questions about its sources and modalities of funding and charges of bribing of candidates, with the police officially pursuing investigations against the party’s …

Election narrative in Kerala skipped real issues
3 years, 8 months ago

Election narrative in Kerala skipped real issues

New Indian Express  

Even as the parties relied on rhetoric and sensationalism in their bid to sway people’s minds, many issues that deserved their attention were ignored. While the ruling LDF reminded people about the freebies it doled out and its rivals did everything to steer the discussion away from them by bringing up many scams along with the government’s handling of the …

Kerala Assembly election: LDF government on its path to a record second term in office as predicted by all opinion surveys
3 years, 8 months ago

Kerala Assembly election: LDF government on its path to a record second term in office as predicted by all opinion surveys

The Hindu  

The ruling Left Democratic Front ’s emphatic victory in the local body elections held in December, under the shadow of an onslaught of corruption charges by the opposition trying to eclipse the government’s record in office, continued to be a morale booster for its candidates in Kerala as the campaign for the Assembly elections 2021 entered its last lap. Unusually, …

140 seats up for grabs in Kerala, but can BJP dent state's bipolar politics?
3 years, 8 months ago

140 seats up for grabs in Kerala, but can BJP dent state's bipolar politics?

India Today  

The year 2016 was when the BJP won a seat in Kerala for the first time. Surendran, now the BJP’s state unit president, is once again contesting from Majeshwar, this time against AKM Ashraf of IUML, which is a Congress ally in Kerala. Though the main contenders for the 140 seats are CPI-led Left Democratic Front and Congress-led United Democratic …

Kerala Assembly Elections 2021 | A battle over the elusive fruit of continuity
3 years, 8 months ago

Kerala Assembly Elections 2021 | A battle over the elusive fruit of continuity

The Hindu  

The campaign narratives in Kerala in the run up to the Assembly polls on April 6 illustrate a zealous attempt to validate, and an equally ardent bid to push back, the presumed ‘certainty’ of a forthcoming turning point in its electoral history. However hard the LDF tried to restrict the electioneering discourse to its development record and social welfare initiatives, …

Why Kerala may not swing this time round
3 years, 8 months ago

Why Kerala may not swing this time round

Live Mint  

Earlier this summer, a diaspora Malayali travelled from Yemen to Kerala in order to campaign for his favourite communist politician, A. Pradeep Kumar, in Kozhikode. But we will not let the party be harmed in any way now.” The man represents a notable category: a large section of Malayalis who’ve been drawn into politics this election season by the prospect …

Kerala polls: BJP gets another chance to make inroads, but prevailing in coastal state seems improbable
3 years, 8 months ago

Kerala polls: BJP gets another chance to make inroads, but prevailing in coastal state seems improbable

Firstpost  

Even as the BJP has commanded significant support in North India and has made inroads in East and Northeast India, the South and especially the state of Kerala has evaded the Saffron wave. However, notwithstanding the subsequent poll losses, a look at the party’s performance since the 2014 general elections show that slowly but steadily, the BJP has been building …

Kerala challenging federal structure of constitution: Rajnath Singh
3 years, 8 months ago

Kerala challenging federal structure of constitution: Rajnath Singh

Hindustan Times  

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday lashed out at the Kerala government for recommending a judicial probe against central investigation agencies probing gold smuggling and other cases. "Kerala Cabinet has taken a decision to hold judicial inquiry against central agencies probing the gold smuggling scam. Watch | ‘Judicial inquiry against Central agencies unfortunate’: Rajnath Singh in Kerala Singh is …

Kerala Assembly Elections | Infighting, factional feud, personality politics plague Congress, CPI(M) and BJP
3 years, 9 months ago

Kerala Assembly Elections | Infighting, factional feud, personality politics plague Congress, CPI(M) and BJP

The Hindu  

Mainstream political parties that felt secure at the start of the election campaign now seemed to be glancing nervously over their shoulders in Kerala. Insurgency is threatening to undermine the electoral prospects of Congress and CPI even as the traditional rivals in Kerala faced an asymmetrical threat from an emergent force, the BJP. CPI workers in the Kuttiyadi constituency in …

Kerala Polls 2021: Another Setback For Congress! Vijayan Thomas Joins BJP Citing ‘Groupism’ In KPCC
3 years, 9 months ago

Kerala Polls 2021: Another Setback For Congress! Vijayan Thomas Joins BJP Citing ‘Groupism’ In KPCC

ABP News  

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee suffers another blow within a week as one more top leader has shifted the camp days ahead of the assembly elections. Former Kerala Congress leader Vijayan Thomas, who was a general secretary in the party, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Friday. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Vijayan Thomas, KPCC General Secretary who resigned …

Congress to contest 91 seats in Kerala, list likely to be out by March 14
3 years, 9 months ago

Congress to contest 91 seats in Kerala, list likely to be out by March 14

India Today  

The Kerala unit of Congress party is going to contest in 91 out of the 140 constituencies for the April 6 assembly polls with the final list likely to be released by Sunday. Discussions are on to finalise candidates for remaining 10 seats.The central election committee of the Congress party, chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi, has decided to field …

LDF confident of second innings in Kerala
3 years, 9 months ago

LDF confident of second innings in Kerala

The Hindu  

No ruling party or coalition has won the mandate for a second successive term in office in Kerala, except once in 1977, and the State is well known for alternating its preference between the Communist Party of India -led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front coalitions. Yet, the ruling LDF led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, confident …

LDF Will Sweep Kerala, But Challenging as BJP Trying To Make Inroads: Sitaram Yechury
3 years, 9 months ago

LDF Will Sweep Kerala, But Challenging as BJP Trying To Make Inroads: Sitaram Yechury

News 18  

In an exclusive interview, CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury explained the importance of the Left front in these State elections, while pointing out the apathy of the Congress on their role. Q: Sir, are you saying that in Kerala BJP is trying to make inroads and that BJP is the challenge and the Congress is not the challenge over there? …

‘I want to bolster the BJP’s chances of coming to power in Kerala’, says ‘Metro Man’ E. Sreedharan on his decision to join the party
3 years, 10 months ago

‘I want to bolster the BJP’s chances of coming to power in Kerala’, says ‘Metro Man’ E. Sreedharan on his decision to join the party

The Hindu  

“Metro Man” E. Sreedharan, who served for many years as the Principal Adviser to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and who is well-known for his leadership and advisory roles in building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi, Lucknow and Kochi metros, may be among the prominent personalities that the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to enlist as its candidates in …

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