Congress candidate from Kerala's Nilambur dies of heart attack
Malappuram (Kerala): Senior Congress leader and Opposition UDF candidate from Nilambur V V Prakash died of a heart attack this morning, party sources said.
The 56-year-old leader was also Malappuram District Congress Committee president.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extended his condolences to the family.
"The untimely demise of Malappuram DCC President & UDF Nilambur candidate V V Prakash Ji is extremely tragic. He will be remembered as an honest & hardworking member of the Congress, always ready to offer help to the people. My heartfelt condolences to his family," he tweeted.
DCC sources said Prakash was admitted to a private hospital in Edakkara in the early hours of Thursday after he complained of heart-related discomfort, but was shifted to a facility in Manjeri as his condition worsened.
He passed away around 5 am, they said. Prakash had undergone angioplasty a few months back.
The Congress party was hoping to wrest the Nilambur seat from the ruling LDF alliance. The CPI(M) had fielded incumbent MLA P V Anwar.
UDF leaders also expressed shock at his sudden demise.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
