Pinarayi Vijayan and 18 others take oath as new Kerala CM and Ministers.

CPM strongman Pinarayi Vijayan was today sworn in as chief minister of Kerala heading a 19-member ministry of the party-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) that had 13 new faces including two women.The CPM or Communist Party of India-Marxist will have 12 ministers, the Communist Party of India or CPI will have four and three other LDF constituents - the Janata Dal-S, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress-S - will have one each. Last week, the LDF wrested Kerala back from the Oomen Chandy-led Congress. "This will be a people's government and will function for the welfare of the people. There will be no caste, religious and political barriers and we will function with that spirit," Mr Vijayan has promised. Among the pledges his newspaper ads this morning are safety for women and minorities, welfare of students and the elderly and a promise of new jobs and control of inflation. The son of a toddy tapper, Mr Vijayan was picked to be chief minister over Mr Achuthanandan, the CPM's star campaigner.

Pinarayi Vijayan will take oath today as chief minister and is "committed to turn Kerala into a truly God's own country." Pinarayi Vijayan served for 17 years as the CPM's Kerala state secretary, the longest tenure ever. He has been elected to the state assembly five times and won this year's election from Dharmadam constituency by a margin of 36,000 votes. The Cabinet of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government comprises 19 members. Governor P. Sathasivam administered the oath of office and secrecy to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and 18 members of his Cabinet at the Central Stadium here.

Live updates: 04.47 p.m.: The swearing-in ceremony, a 48-minute affair, comes to a close. The Ministers will now attend their first Cabinet meeting.

04.44 p.m.: T.M. Thomas Isaac takes oath as Finance Minister. The former Economics professor from Alappuzha was Finanace Minister in the previous LDF government too. He has been credited with spearheading the People's Plan Campaign. 04.42 p.m.: P. Tilothaman will be the Public Distribution and Civil Supplies Minister. He is the third Minister from Alappuzha district. 04.39 p.m.: V.S. Sunil Kumar takes oath as Agriculture Minister. 04.38 p.m.: CPI(M) State committee member G. Sudhakaran will handle Public Works and Registration portfolios. The first president of the SFI in Kerala, he was earlier a part of Mr. Achutanandan's Cabinet too. 04.35 p.m.: K.K. Shylaja takes oath as Health and Social Welfare Minister. 04.33 p.m.: C. Ravindranath takes oath as Education Minister. 04.29 p.m.: T.P. Ramakrishnan takes oath as the Minister for Excise and Labour. Formerly the Kozhikode district secretary of the CPI(M), he won from Perambra. He is a member of the State secretariat of the party. 04.28 p.m.: K. Raju of the CPI, who won from Punalur, takes oath. He will handle the Forest, Wildlife and Environment portfolio.

04.25 p.m.: A.C. Moideen takes oath as Tourism and Cooperation Minister. The Kunnamkulam MLA had had a stint as CPI(M) Thrissur District Secretary. 04.23 p.m.: Mercykutty Amma, who won from Kundara, and one of the only two women in the Cabinet, takes the oath as the Fisheries Minister. She is also the CITU national president. 04.22 p.m.: The Minister for Electricity and Devaswoms is Kadakampalli Surendran. He won from Kazhakoottam and it is his second term as MLA. 04.18 p.m.: E.P. Jayarajan of the CPI(M) takes oath as Sports and Industry Minister. A three-time MLA and a first-time Minister, he is a CPI(M) central committee member. 04.16 p.m.: K.T. Jaleel takes oath as Minister for Local Self Government. At 48 years, he is the youngest Minister in the Cabinet. He was earlier the general secretary of the Muslim Youth League. He won as an LDF-backed independent. 04.15 p.m.: A.K. Balan of the CPI(M) takes oath. He was Minister for Power in the V.S. Achuthanandan government. The MLA from Tharoor will now handle the Law, Culture and SC/ST Affairs. 04.11 p.m.: Kadannappalli Ramachandran takes oath as Ports Minister. 04.08 p.m.: Actor Mammootty is in attendance at the ceremony. 04.07 p.m.: A.K. Saseendran of the NCP takes oath as Transport Minister. A five-time MLA, he won from Elathoor. 04.05 p.m.: Mathew T. Thomas of the JD(S) takes oath as Water Resources Minister. He won from Thiruvalla. He was the Transport Minister in the previous LDF government before resigning over differences with the LDF leadership. He takes the oath in the name of God, a rarity in LDF ceremonies. 04.03 p.m.: E Chandrasekharan of the CPI takes the oath as Revenue Minister. The CPI's State treasurer won from Kanhangad. He is a first-time Minister. 04.02 p.m.: CPI(M) Leaders V.S. Achutanandan, Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat are present at the swearing-in ceremony at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. 04.01 p.m.: Pinarayi Vijayan takes oath as Chief Minister. 4 p.m.: Governor P. Sathasivam arrives for the swearing-in ceremony.

Proposed Ministers from CPM and CPI

Vijayan was elected to lead his party at a meeting of his party leadership on Friday. Pinarayi Vijayan would be sworn-in as Kerala's 12nd chief minister on May 25 at the Thiruvananthapuram central stadium in the state capital. Generally, the new cabinet takes oath at the Raj Bhavan but this time, deviating from the routine, the LDF is expecting a larger turnout of invitees and hence a bigger venue. Like in 2011, the LDF is contemplating a 19-member ministry. There would be 12 members from the CPM, including the chief minister, 4 from the CPI and one each from the Janata Dal (S), Kerala Congress (S) and the NCP. The ministry will have eight new faces from the CPM, sources said. The names believed to be finalized E.P. Jayarajan, K.K. Shailaja, A.K. Balan, T.P. Ramakrishnan, J. Mercykuttiyamma, G. Sudhakaran, T.M. Thomas Isaac, A.C. Moitheen, K.T. Jaleel, C. Raveendranath and Kadakampally Surendran. Ponnani MLA and CPM leader P. Sreeramakrishnan is likely to be the Speaker. CPI ministers to be new faces

Meanwhile, it is believed that all the four ministers from the CPI, the second largest constituent of the LDF, will be new faces. E. Chandrasekharan, V.S. Sunil Kumar, K. Raju and P. Thilothaman are likely to be the ministers from the CPI.

Chirayinkeezhu MLA V Sasi will be recommended for the post of Deputy Speaker.It is believed that Thomas Isaac will handle finance while the department of industries will go to E.P. Jayarajan. Shailaja is likely to be the health minister. The decisions were taken by the CPM state secretariat, which met at AKG Centre, the party headquarters, here.

Pinarayi Vijayan named Kerala chief minister

Pinarayi Vijayan is set to become the next chief minister of Kerala after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) emerged triumphant in the 16 May state assembly election. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, chose Vijayan, 72, over V.S. Achuthanandan, 92, a former chief minister of the southern state, who led the Left’s election campaign. “We are very happy that in a unanimous decision we have decided that comrade Pinarayi Vijayan has been proposed as the leader of the LDF legislative party,” CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said while addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram. “We will put this forward with the other parties of the Left Front as well.” The Left Front had refrained from announcing a chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the election and both Achuthanandan and Vijayan had been seen as front-runners for the position. The two leaders in the past have had their differences.Vijayan is the only politburo member who has been elected to the assembly this time. In the 140-member state Assembly, CPM-led LDF won 91 seats , UDF headed by Congress got 47 while BJP and Independents bagged one each. Soon after the decision to nominate Vijayan to the CM's post became known, party workers at AKG Bhavan started celebrations and began distributing sweets.

“...considering comrade Achuthanandan’s age and physical limitations, we have come to the conclusion that comrade Pinarayi Vijayan will be our chief ministerial face,” Yechury said. Commenting on the future role of Achuthanandan, Yechury said, “Achuthanandan is like the Fidel Castro of Kerala. He will guide and inspire the party.” The decision was taken in a state secretariat meeting held in Kerala on Friday where a majority of the members were in favour of Vijayan’s selection. The meeting was attended by party general secretary Yechury and former general secretary Prakash Karat. The move also comes as the party is making attempts to revive its organisational structure after fielding state and central committee members. This year, Vijayan contested elections for the first time since 1998. The CPM is the largest party in the LDF, which secured 91 seats in the 140-member Kerala assembly in the vote count on Thursday. Analysts are hopeful of the state’s growth under Vijayan’s stewardship.

“Vijayan has a record of being a good minister and a reasonably modern-minded leader. Being a first-time chief minister, he would want to prove himself. Vijayan can provide a decent administration if he creates a good team from the 91 members that have been elected,” said Paul Zacharia, a Thiruvananthapuram-based political commentator and writer. He added, “While making the announcement, Yechury shared the dias with VS (Achuthanandan) which in itself is a good sign. VS may have resigned himself to being a figurehead. If VS decides to keep his ambitions in control it will be a fairly smooth government.” Born in 1944 to a toddy tapper family in Kannur, Vijayan served as CPM state committee secretary from 1998 to 2015. He is the longest serving state secretary and is known to be a grassroots leader. He has been elected to the state legislative assembly four times.

Vijayan became the minister for electricity and cooperation in 1996. Currently, he is a member of the central committee and the politburo of the party. He won the assembly election from Dharmadom in Kannur district with a margin of 36,905 votes.

Exit polls hint at anti-incumbency and corruption in Kerala

Kerala Election 2016 Exit Poll Pollsters UDF LDF BJP+ Others India Today-Axis UDF 43 LDF 94 BJP 3 OTH 1 CVoter UDF 58 LDF 78 BJP 2 News Nation UDF 70 LDF 69 OTH 1 0 Chanakya UDF 57 LDF 75 BJP 8 OTH 0 Summary of Kerala Assembly Election 2016 Opinion Poll

According to a pre-poll survey conducted by IMEG (Institute for Monitoring Economic Growth), Thiruvananthapuram, the CPI(M)-led LDF is coming to power in Kerala in 2016. It appears that voters of Kerala are going to reject both the BJP and Congress-led incumbent UDF. The IMEG survey has projected the LDF to win 83-90 seats in the 2016 Assembly elections while the UDF will have to satisfy itself with 50 to 57 seats. The BJP-led NDA may see an increase in its vote share but it may not be sufficient to open its account in the Assembly. The IMEG survey was conducted among 60,000 voters from south, central and north regions of Kerala. You may also like to read Kerala Election Date 2016 Kerala Assembly Constituencies LDF Candidate List 2016 Kerala Assembly elections: Times Now-CVoter opinion poll hints at the return of Left According to a pre-poll survey by Times Now-CVoter and CNN-IBN suggests a whopping victory for the LDF as the anti-incumbency factor will lead to the defeat of ruling UDF. The LDF is likely to get 86 seats in the 140-seat assembly. The ruling UDF is expected to bag only 53 seats during the elections scheduled to be held on 16 May. The NDA, which is likely to eat into the vote share of UDF, will see 10% votes going in their favour. Party/Alliance Seat Projection Seat Share % LDF 86 44 UDF 53 41 NDA 1 10 Others 0 5 Kerala Opinion Poll by India TV C-voter The opinion poll conducted by C-voter for India TV indicated that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) may stage a comeback in Kerala. If the report of the survey is taken at a face value, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s UDF will be ousted from power since it is expected to win only 49 seats. The LDF is likely to come back to power by winning 89 seats in the 140-member Assembly. There’s a slight probability of BJP-led front winning one seat. Party Seats LDF 89 UDF 49 BJP-led front 1 Kerala Opinion Poll by Elections.in Party/Alliance Seat Projection LDF 82 UDF 55 NDA 3 Kerala Opinion Poll by Asianet poll

(Feb 2016) As Kerala gears up to hold elections for the 140-seat assembly, the opinion poll survey indicates that the Left will win the polls. According to C for Survey conducted for Asianet, BJP will open its account in the state for the first time, and that too with 18% vote share. The 2016 Kerala Assembly elections opinion poll has predicted that LDF will win between 77 and 82 seats, thus securing the majority. The survey results indicate that the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) will emerge as the second largest party with 55 to 60 seats. The BJP is likely to gain three to five seats. It is to be noted that the Oommen Chandy-led UDF will get 37% of the vote share despite being mired in controversies and the LDF’s

vote share will reduce from 44.94% in 2011 to 41%. The reason, according to pollsters, is eating away of the UDF and LDF vote shares by the NDA. The survey, which continued from 1-16 February, was conducted in 70 constituencies comprising 568 villages and 148 towns. Party No. of Seats Vote Share LDF 77 – 82 41.00% United Democratic Front 55 – 60 37.00% BJP 3 – 5 18.00% Polling Agency: Asianet Survey Date: 1 Feb to 16 Feb 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly Election 2011 Results

Party Seats Communist Party of India (CPI) 13 Communist Party of Indian (Marxist) (CPM) 45 Indian National Congress (INC) 38 Janata Dal (Secular) JD(S) 4 Kerala Congress (Jacob) (KEC)(J) 1 Kerala Congress (M) (KCM) 9 Kerala Congress (B) KEC(B) 1 Kerala Revolutionary Socialist Party(Baby John) (KRSP) 1 Muslim League Kerala State Committee (MUL) 20 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 2 Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) 2 Socialist Janta (Democratic) (SJD) 2 Independent (IND) 2 Total 140

THE SUPREME COURT REJECT THE PLEA OF ACCUSED IN PALMOLEIN CASE

Dismissing the petition filed by three accused in Kerala Palmolein import case, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the trial must continue in the case and that no one can be acquitted at this stage .The court was hearing a petition filed by former Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas and Congress leader T H Mustafa, seeking acquittal from the case.

The court also criticised the state government for trying to “mislead” the apex court. The government pleader had informed the Supreme Court that a review petition in this regard has been submitted to the High Court. However, the lawyer who appeared for CPI (M) leader V S Achuthanandan pointed out that this is wrong. Further, the bench headed by the

Chief Justice inspected the documents and censured the government Jiji Thomson, present chief secretary; PJ Thomas, former Kerala IAS officer; and TH Mustafa, then food minister are among eight accused in the case. In March, the Kerala High Court had rejected Jiji Thomson's plea seeking to stop all further proceedings in the case against him until the Supreme Court disposes Special Leave Petition (SLP). Earlier, his plea seeking dismissal of the case was rejected by both the lower court and high court. The Palmolein case relates to the import of 15,000 tonnes of palmolein oil from a Malaysian company in 1991 when the late K. Karunakaran was chief minister. The import had allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs 2.32 crore for the state.

RECENT POLITICAL ISSUES IN KERALA: HIGHER SECONDARY AND VHSE RESULTS 2016

RECENT POLITICAL ISSUES IN KERALA: HIGHER SECONDARY AND VHSE RESULTS HIGHER SECONDARY AND VHSE RESULTS ON 10.05.2016 AT 3.00PM

HIGHER SECONDARY AND VHSE RESULTS

HIGHER SECONDARY AND VHSE RESULTS ON 10.05.2016 AT 3.00PM http://result.kerala.gov.in/. For Result click the side link " HIGHER SECONDARY AND VHSE RESULTS " HIGHER SECONDARY AND VHSE RESULTS

Kerala shocked by brutality of Perumbavoor girl's murder (Kerala's Nirbhaya )

A 30-year-old law student in Kerala was raped and murdered and her body was found with the intestines hanging out in an incident that has chilling echoes of the 2012 gangrape of Delhi student Jyoti Singh, who came to be known as Nirbhaya. The woman was found dead inside her home in Ernakulam on Thursday with signs of strangling and 30 wounds on her body. She is believed to have been brutalized with a sharp instrument and also had a head injury. She was last seen by neighbours in the afternoon when she had gone to fill water near her house. The police suspect she was assaulted between 1 and 5 pm. The neighbours say they didn't hear anything.

The woman lived with her mother, who, the police say, is mentally unstable and has been admitted to a hospital. Her father had left them years ago and the family was struggling financially. No arrests have been made in the past four days. Ahead of voting for assembly polls in the state, the case has drawn political attention. Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told reporters that investigations are on and those responsible would be dealt with severely. "The incident is terrifying and a reminder of how such things are on the rise in Kerala and other states," said TN Seema, a Left candidate for the May 16 polls.

In December 2012, 23-year-old medical student Jyoti Singh was gang-raped on a moving bus by five men who tortured her with an iron rod. She died 13 days later amid angry protests in India. The outrage led to new laws on crimes against women. According to the police, the incident took place in broad daylight but none of the neighbours staying nearby intervened. It has been five days since the incident took place, but the police are yet to arrest anyone, and relatives allege that no political leaders or activists have come forward to offer help. Friends of the victim, who was staying with her mentally challenged mother in a single room house, came to know about her death two days later from a local newspaper. They feel the perpetrator could have been inside the house for a long time considering the number of wounds and the manner in which the victim was assaulted. The assault and murder is reminiscent to the December 16, 2012 gangrape of Nirbhaya, a physiotherapy intern, who was assaulted by six men on a private bus in Delhi. The CPI-M has latched onto the murder which occurred on April 28 to accuse the Congress-led UDF government in the poll-bound Kerala of 'inaction' to trace the culprits. "Police have failed to get any lead about the culprits even five days after the incident," CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said in Thiruvananthapuram.

Rejecting the charge, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said a "scientific" probe was being conducted into the incident and asserted that the culprits would be brought to book. Police said Ernakulam Range IG Mahipal Yadav is supervising the probe by a team of officials, headed by Perumbavoor Dy SP after it was reported that 30-year-old Jisha was subjected to rape and fatal assault at her small wayside home in Kuruppampadi police limit. Jisha was found dead in a pool of blood at 8 PM by her mother when she reached home after her daily menial job. "It was a brutal murder. There were stab injuries on her body. We suspect she was subjected to smothering and strangulation," Yadav told PTI.

He, however, refused to share details about the investigation. Police said whether the woman was subjected to sexual assault before or after the murder would be clear only from the postmortem report.