POLITICS
OPINION | Will Kerala’s 2026 assembly election be Pinarayi Vijayan’s last stand?
Local body polls show that UDF is in pole position. LDF hasn’t given up hope because many margins were narrow, but the weight of anti-incumbency may be hard to overcome
TRENDS
Why Nilambur bypoll result will tell us if Congress is losing its hold in Kerala
Nilambur, which is a part of the Muslim-majority Malappuram district, is a constituency where Muslim population is just short of the halfway mark. It represents an assembly which the Congress dominated for decades by attracting support across religious identities. In a crucial way, it encapsulates the party’s underlying political base in Kerala. It’s the stability of that base which is being tested this week
BUSINESS
Shashi Tharoor: Suitors aplenty but no great options
The animosity between the MP from Thiruvananthapuram and sections of Congress High Command is barely concealed. It a steep fall from the time Tharoor seemed to be a potential Kerala CM on a Congress platform. Is his defence of the BJP-led Centre a signal of his impending destination, or a harking for a more bipartisan era? Or, is Tharoor just a hard-nosed politician extracting something out of the leadership of a party under pressure?
POLITICS
Vizhinjam: The fascinating political backstory of India’s first deep water port
Dreamt of from the days of the Travancore kingdom, the port which is a mere 10 nautical miles away from the shipping route linking Europe to the Far East, got serious political backing after 1991. An unlikely cast of characters from the Congress and Left Front, along with the Adani group, transformed the dream into reality. That said, its potential remains limited in absence of supporting infrastructure
POLITICS
Shah Bano moment for Congress in Kerala
Kerala’s Latin Christians have been the bulwark of the Congress’ support base in the state. However, a bitter dispute between Waqf bodies and Christians over land holdings in the Munambam fishing hamlet found the grand old party unable to reconcile differences. Following the passage of the amendments to the Waqf law by Parliament, which Congress opposed, Kerala’s principal opposition party is on the back foot just when its prospects seemed bright for the 2026 Assembly election
POLITICS
Quo vadis, Shashi Tharoor?
Elected four consecutive times to Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, but always the ‘outsider’ to the state unit. Arguably, the most popular Congress leader in Kerala, but now at odds with his party as his state heads for an assembly election. Stuck in a Lok Sabha characterized by repeated disruptions and little space for opposition MPs, where does that leave the man once seen as Kerala’s CM-in-waiting?
POLITICS
All hail Captain Vijayan, Kerala’s ‘Red Guardian’
Encouraging a personality cult is the common thread running through Indian political parties, regardless of ideology. CPI-M was a rare exception, opting for a collective framework of decision making. Now, on the verge of near electoral irrelevance, the party has joined the mainstream in its last bastion, Kerala. Pinarayi Vijayan has converted electoral success into the building of a personality cult, reminiscent of a particular era in the Soviet Union
POLITICS
Underlying the Narayana Guru controversy is the Left’s fight to hold on to its political base in Kerala
The political battle to appropriate a towering figure of Kerala’s Renaissance Movement represents the CPM’s effort to retrieve lost ground before the next set of elections. Ezhavas, who closely identify with Sree Narayana Guru, have begun to move away from CPM towards BJP. That’s the nub of the matter
BUSINESS
Is Marxist volte-face to welcome private universities a decade too late for Kerala?
While the rest of South India saw the ravenous appetite for higher education opportunities among youngsters and opened the field to private capital, CPI(M) and its youth and student wings militantly opposed the move. Now faced with the prospect of a geriatric society where students are going abroad, the Marxists welcome foreign and private universities
POLITICS
Oommen Chandy (1943-2023): Devoted to public service and past master at realpolitik, a beloved leader passes
From emerging out of AK Antony’s shadow to becoming one of the most popular chief ministers to serve Kerala, the Congress party has lost its tallest leader in the state with Oommen Chandy’s passing. It was his comfort in being in the midst of people all the time that marked him out as a politician and public servant
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Congress preferring Siddaramaiah over DK Shivakumar is unlikely to end well with younger leaders losing out yet again
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
Karnataka Election Results: Congress cracks the victory code, BJP’s double engine strategy blunted
POLITICS
Karnataka Elections: With Lingayats pushing back, BJP struggles to subsume caste identities within Hindutva narrative
BUSINESS
For Kerala CPM, this may be a good time to begin succession planning
BUSINESS
Decoding Sharad Pawar: Rahul Gandhi would do well to study this 'Congressman at heart'
BUSINESS
Assembly elections in 2023 are no quarter-final or semi-final before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
BUSINESS
An Archbishop’s political overtures to BJP cannot save Kerala’s rubber economy
ASSEMBLY-ELECTIONS
A Left-Congress alliance is a win-win for both
BUSINESS
After Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi’s Hindi oratory too needs a reset before Lok Sabha polls
BUSINESS
Tightly leashing media at home but proponent of press freedoms elsewhere, Pinarayi Vijayan’s many hypocrisies
POLITICS
When it comes to satire and memes, politicians are fair game in Kerala
BUSINESS
Why Kerala will not have a happy Onam this year
BUSINESS
Kerala needs to focus on investments conducive to its conditions
POLITICS
VD Satheesan is a ray of hope for a crestfallen Congress in Kerala
