News and Views

Thiruvananthapuram: Assembly elections in Kerala will be held in April or May after taking into consideration issues like festivals, examinations and weather, Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Nasim Zaidi said here on Thursday.

The Core Committee of BJP Kerala Unit, which met in Kochi in the presence of party president Amit Shah, deliberated on its election strategy for Kerala.

The meeting decided that all senior leaders of the party should contest the elections. As there were shortages of good candidates, fielding of film stars and cultural leaders as candidates should be considered.

It was tentatively discussed that party president Kummanam Rajesekharan should contest from Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram and former State president V. Muraleedharan from Kazhakoottam.

Curtains go up for the Budget session of the Assembly on Friday with the ruling and Opposition fronts poised for the final battle of wits. Both sides have high stakes as the general election is round the corner. This will be the last session of the House before the elections.

The nine-day-old agitation by joint action council of endosulfan victims was settled on Wednesday following talks between representatives of the victims and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

The list of victims eligible for compensation will be expanded and 610 persons will be included in the list immediately. A three-member committee will undertake classification of victims into three categories on the basis of their requirements.

Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar made a surprise visit to Vazhachal and Athirappally waterfalls on Wednesday.

The visit assist significance as the Centre is to decide shortly on clearance for the Athirappally Hydroelectric project.

Talking to the media, Mr. Javadekar demanded that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy should resign in view of allegations against him.