kerala assembly election Latest News

Voting booth details on mobiles

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government, in association with a private IT company, yesterday introduced a new service to enable citizens to check their voting place details by sending an SMS.

The facility is offered by MobME Wireless Solutions, based in Technopark here, through the mobile governance project of the Kerala state IT mission, department of information technology.

To use the service, a voter needs to send the message "ELEVoter ID number" to 537252. In reply to the SMS, the sender would get details regarding his or her voter details and the polling booth at which the vote has to be cast.

The service is available to over 22mn voters in 140 constituencies ahead of the April 13 assembly election. The facility covers all telecom service providers in the state.

The facility will help to end voters' dependence on agents of political parties to issue voters' slips that mention details about their polling centre and booth.

"The chief electoral office here, the Alappuzha collectorate and the Kozhikode collectorate have been provided access to the m-governance platform for sending election related messages to key officials," said MobME CEO Sanjay Vijayakumar.

He said the project won the prestigious NASSCOM innovation award for market facing innovation for 2011.

MobME is a key player in the mobile value added services space with live systems across the length and breadth of the country.


IT Squad to monitor money flow in kerala election.

Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday, April 03, 2011: The Income Tax Department in Kerala has started its work to monitor money flow during the April 13 Assembly elections in the State. Squads had been formed in all districts and started monitoring the activities of political parties.

This is for the first time the department has been entrusted to handle the exercise during the elections. The department has already set up a toll-free number (1800-425- 5708) to receive complaints.

The monitoring system would work under the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Kerala. Big functions including marriages and other ceremonies in towns, cities and villages would be under surveillance. Special teams would be posted in bus stands, railway stations, airports and hotels to check suspicious money movements.

Bulk cash withdrawal from banks and movement of cash and hawala brokers would be monitored. The IT department would verify the assets declared in the affidavits by candidates and would report to the Election Commission. Air Intelligence units had been installed at the three airports in the state to track movement of bulk cash by air, the release said.


Karuanakaran's absence a huge loss, says Muraleedharan

Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 : The absence of Congress veteran K. Karunakaran in the campaigning is a huge loss to the Congress-led front in the poll-bound Kerala, his son K. Muraleedharan said Saturday.


Addressing reporters here, Muraleedharan said his father, who died December last year, was a passionate campaigner.

"Even when his health was failing, he always saw to it that he campaigned for the Congress-led front, such was his passion when it came to campaigns," Muraleedharan said.

"And today, every supporter of us has got the message that in the last executive meeting of the Congress party, just before he passed away, he made a passionate plea to all to work unitedly for the success of the party and I can sense that it is happening," said Muraleedharan, who is contesting from the Vattiyoorkavu assembly seat here.

A three-time Lok Sabha member, this is Muraleedharan's second attempt to enter the state assembly.


LDF will defend secularism, protect minorities: Prakash Karat

Kottayam, Apr 2 : CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today reiterated that the Left Front governments would always defend secularism and protect minorities.




Mr Karat was addressing an election campaign here today. The LDF government in the state was a clean government and it had taken steps to check corruption in all areas of life.

Citing corruption in the UPA and its leaders at Centre and UDF in the state, he alleged that one central minister was facing trial, while another in the state was already in jail.

The UPA and UDF were serving the interest of big capitalists.

Only ten per cent of the people could make profit under the UPA and UDF governments, whereas the Left Front governments had brought relief to farmers and the common man, he claimed.

In Kerala, the people had never accepted the BJP as an alternative but only the Left Front as the alternative to Congress and the UDF, he further claimed.

He appealed to the electorate to ensure victory of the LDF candidates.

LDF convener Vaikom Viswan refuted the propaganda that progressive movements were alien to Kottayam.


Sushma dismisses Congress allegation on BJP-CPM pac

Thiruvananthapuram, Friday, April 01, 2011: BJP today dismissed as “baseless” the Congress allegation that the saffron party had not fielded a candidate in Malampuzha, where Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan is contesting, as it had a truck with CPI-M for the April 13 Kerala assembly polls. “I reject the allegation as baseless”, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, who began her election campaign in the state, told a ‘meet the press’ program organised by the Press Club here.

When asked why BJP did not field a candidate in Malampuzha, she quipped”some times it happens” .There was no understanding for the party with CPI-M outside the Parliament, she said. BJP has only floor coordination with Left inside the Parliament to take up common issues such as corruption against the UPA government’, she said.

“We are fighting the CPI-M in West Bengal and Kerala and we have basic ideological differences with that party”, she said. She said after the assembly polls in West Bengal and Kerala, Left parties would be ‘marginalised’ in the country. On BJP’s poll strategy in south, she said the focus of the party was to become an effective opposition in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, where at present BJP did not have a MLA.


Bardhan: Left has edge in Kerala

Kochi, Apr 1 "In Kerala we have an edge" Bardhan told reporters at a meet-the-press programme organised by Ernakulam Press club here. In Kerala, the fight was no doubt keen, but LDF had an edge and the Left front would win a majority, he said, adding "the so called Kerala pattern of alternating LDF and UDF governments would not happen this time following the Left Front's good performance". "What is noticeable this time is use of money power by the Congress. Already a Congressman has revealed that money has been paid for seats. It should not be taken lightly. It is not the observation of a man denied seat. What generally happens in Uttar Pradesh and other states where money is paid for selection of candidates has happened here. This was never so in Kerala which is a politically conscious state", he said. "Congress' greed for money seems to be growing in proportion to the losses it has suffered in election. The role of money power is unfortunate and needs to be curbed", he said. Praising the LDF government for ensuring food security to the vulnerable sections of the society and supplying rice at Rs 2 per kg to BPL and APL families, Bardhan said he was however "amazed" at the Supreme Court's decision to stay the decision of the government to extend the scheme to APL families also. Bardhan said the apex court had some time ago observed that foodgrains should be distributed free to the poor instead of allowing it to rot in godowns. "The Supreme court which holds such views have not taken kindly to the decision of LDF to extend it. The decision was taken before the model code of conduct came into force. If the LDF gets another term, it would be implemented", he said. Asked about the alleged incident of CPI minister C Divakaran slapping a voter in Kollam and a CPI(M) MLA, P Jayarajan, manhandling a TV journalist in Kannur, Bardhan said the Kollam incident was "a figment of imagination" of a section of the media. The candidate was not involved in the the incident. "It is a non-existent crime", he said when pointed that the police had registered a case. Regarding Kannur incident, he said "too much is being read into the incident. This is a non-issue", he said.

‘Both majority& minority extremism dangerous to country’

Kasargod, Friday, April 01, 2011: Both majority and minority religious extremism adversely affect the development process and are dangerous for the country, Defence Minister A K Antony said here today.

“Both majority and minority religious extremism are not good for development and dangerous for the country,” he said at an election meeting at nearby Kumbala in support of UDF candidate for Manjeswaram, Abdul Razak.

He said those who try to destablise communal harmony are enemies of the country and the people.

Antony claimed India has witnessed faster changes in all sectors in the last six years of Congress-led UPA rule as the alliance has put in place a development agenda and taken steps to prevent communal and religious violence.


Thiruvnanthapuram, Friday, April 01, 2011: Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan has said that the disclosures by K.K. Ramachandran, former Minister and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee executive committee member, show that the Congress is making democracy subservient to money power.

In a statement here on Thursday, Achuthanandan said that the Congress leaders’ various allegations went to show how big a part money has played in the decisions of the Congress, including in the selection of candidates for the Assembly elections.

Ramachandran’s allegation was that there were only ‘payment seats’ in the party and he was denied a seat only because he did not have money. His revelation implied that several of the Congress candidates had come on the scene paying money.

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