KOCHI: Pinarayi Vijayan
The CM was in the limelight right through the year. From his daily Covid updates and press conferences to taking on critics after a slew of controversies, he held firm to lead LDF to victory in LSG polls
K T Jaleel
Higher Education Minister was caught in the eye of a storm after having arranged for the transportation of copies of the Holy Quran provided by the UAE Consulate in government vehicles. The allegations led to his interrogation
K K Shailaja
Health Minister K K Shailaja received global attention as Kerala managed to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the first half of the year after reporting the nation’s first case on January 30. Her leadership has turned her into an icon
Parvathy Thiruvothu
Actor Parvathy Thiruvothu resigned from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) protesting the misogynist comments made by its general secretary Edavela Babu in an interview
Shamna Kasim
The mother of actor Shamna Kasim alleged a group had threatened her daughter and attempted extortion after getting in touch with the family in the garb of marriage
Bhagyalakshmi
Bhagyalakshmi, dubbing artist, along with Diya Sana, confronted Vijay P Nair, pouring black oil and slapping him for his derogatory video against feminists. There was public sentiment in her favour, but a case was registered.
Rehana Fathima
Videos posted by her on the social media showed her minor kids painting on her semi-nude body, causing a furore. The Police registered a case.
Sreesanth
Test cricketer S Sreesanth’s ban for alleged spot-fixing came to an end in August, ending a seven-year punishment. The 37-year-old is now set to return to action
Anju Bobby George
Anju Bobby George, who won a historic long jump bronze at the 2003 World Athletics Championship in Paris, revealed in 2020 that she reached the top with a single kidney
Sobha Surendran
The BJP leader kept a low-profile during lockdown. When the state leadership overhauled the party, Sobha Surendran, until then the general secretary, became vice-president
Jose K Mani
After shifting allegiance to the LDF, Jose K Mani, MP, shocked the rival P J Joseph faction of the Kerala Congress (M) in the local body polls and proved to the UDF that he is a force to reckon with
K Surendran
BJP leader K Surendran was elevated to the post of the state unit’s president in 2020. He was also in the forefront of questioning the state government on a slew of issues
Ramesh Chennithala
Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala unleashed a host of allegations against the state government, raising expectations of the UDF making great strides in the local body polls. But voters, largely, did not appear to be on the same wavelength
Lijo Jose Pellissery
The ace filmmaker won his second best director award in three years for ‘Jallikattu’. The Lijo Jose Pellissery film, has been selected as India’s entry to the Oscars.
Adakka Raju
Prime witness ‘Adakka’ Raju’s statement turned out to be crucial in the Abhaya murder case. He had entered the convent as a thief. His testimony led to the conviction of accused
Bishop Franco Mulakkal
In September, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, former head of the diocese of Jalandhar, faced trial in the nun rape case at the Additional District & Sessions Court I, Kottayam
S Hareesh
Moustache, the English translation of S Hareesh’s Malayalam novel ‘Meesha’, was picked for the D25-lakh JCB Prize for Literature
Nihal Sarin
Chess prodigy and GM Nihal Sarin secured gold in the U-18 category of the FIDE Online World Cadet and Youth Rapid chess championship in December. It is his sixth major silverware of the year.
Joy Sebastian
Joy Sebastian’s Techgentsia Software Technologies Pvt Ltd won the Centre’s challenge to create a video-conferencing platform
Bineesh Kodiyeri
The younger son of former CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was in the news for his alleged involvement in money laundering and drug cases
M Sivasankar
He was the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and the IT secretary when the ‘Swapna-gate’ scandal emerged. M Sivasankar’s proximity to Swapna and allegations of power misuse led to his arrest
Swapna Suresh
The second accused in the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case, her arrest caused a high-octane churning in state politics