A total of 1,203 candidates contested in the Kerala Assembly polls. Malappuram district, with the maximum number of constituencies (16), had the most number of candidates (145). Only 29 candidates contested from the hilly district of Wayanad with least numBer (3) of constituencies. of the total candidates, 109 were women and only eight got elected
Vijay divas
Pinarayi Vijayan was sworn in the 12th Chief Minister of Kerala after his political party CPM recorded a thumping win in the May-16 Assembly polls by grabbing 58 out of the total 140 seats. A politburo member, Pinarayi Vijayan was the state secretary of the party from September 25, 1998, to February 23, 2015.
rajayogam for BJP as lotus blooms
An additional element in this usually two-sided contest was the BJP as it finally entered the assembly with one single seat - Nemom, in the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, won by 86-year-old O Rajagopal by over 8,000 votes. The performance of the party in the polls was the best in its history as it came second in seven constituencies including Manjeswaram. Party candidate K Surendran lost by a whisker, 89 votes, while his namesake bagged 467 votes.
Puttingal: Man-made calamity
An explosion at Puttingal Devi temple at Paravur near Kollam led to the death of over 111 persons and more than 350 were injured, including some with severe burns. It occurred when the concrete storehouse of the fireworks materials, for a huge fireworks ceremony as a part of the annual temple festival, caught fire. The temple and at least 150 houses in the area of the temple were damaged by the blast around 3.30 am. Two groups set off fireworks while thousands participated in the festival at the temple. After the tragedy, temple authorities told police that they had verbal permission from the district authorities. But they revealed later that, due to safety concerns, the temple had been denied permission, but it proceeded due to pressure from the people.
Nature’s stroke
With Kerala recording unusually high temperatures and drought conditions the toll reached a dozen this season. According to the state Health Department, 160 cases of sunburns have been reported so far. Mercury has been rising alarmingly in Kerala, with Malampuzha in Palakkad district recording 41.9 degree celsius - the highest temperature recorded in the state in the recent years.
Jisha murder: Lest we forget
It was a murder that brought all the eyes to a shanty beside a canal for its brutality. Though Jisha, a 29-year-old law student at the Government Law College, Ernakulam, was found dead at her house in Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district on April 28, the news hit the headlines only after one week of the heinous crime. However, the social media users had taken charge and made it a trending topic with the hashtag #JusticeForJisha.
The suspect behind the case was nabbed by the police on June 16. The investigation team led by ADGP B Sandhya IPS has taken Amir-Ur-Islam, a native of Assam, into custody. The migrant construction worker, aged 23, was detained from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. A black rubber footwear, said to be used by the killer, appeared to be a crucial evidence in finding him. It had bloodstains that has now matched with the DNA samples of Amir. The Ernakulam District and Sessions Court adjourned to December 31, the examination of witnesses as part of trial in the case. It issued the order after noticing that three petitions in connection with the case are pending before the High Court. The High Court had reserved its order on the petition filed by the father of the deceased seeking CBI probe in the case. The objection petition filed by Jisha’s mother opposing the plea for CBI inquiry has also been included in the cases in the High Court.
Fair share in the Cabinet
The LDF Government led by CPM politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan assumed office after a 19-member Cabinet was sworn in at the Central Stadium. The cabinet included 13 new faces, including two women, a first in the history of the state. After a long time, an Independent MLA K T Jaleel was inducted as a minister. It was the second LDF Cabinet to be sworn in outside the Raj Bhavan, in a bid to provide room for party workers and public.
One-man army
It was a fight unlike anything seen in this elections. One man against the three major political formations. In the end, P C George, the maverick politician, came out victorious in style with a thumping margin of 27,821 votes trouncing the three mighty political fronts and the LDF candidate losing the deposit.
Kerala’s Castro
“Comrade VS is like Fidel Castro in Cuba where he acts in an advisor’s role. Like Castro, VS will play that role here,” CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury told the media as the accommodation to the senior-most CPM leader was a topic of discussion. However, he was bestowed the chairmanship of Administrative Reforms Commission with Cabinet rank, after the government crossed 100 days.
Change of guard
Making a tactical retract, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy made room for his junior in the party Ramesh Chennithala to lead the opposition, amidst dissent from Kerala Congress(M). Chandy, who was short of supporters in the Parliamentary party, avoided a contest for the post.