Kerala local body polls: Counting begins, transitional fronts confident
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 16: Counting of votes polled in the crucial local body elections began on Wednesday morning with the traditional political fronts-CPI (M)-led LDF, Congress-headed UDF and BJP-NDA- keeping their fingers crossed as its result is generally seen as pointer to the upcoming Assembly election.
A total of 21,893 wards in 1,200 local self-governing bodies including 6 corporations, 941 village panchayats, 14 district panchayats and 87 municipalities, went to polls in three phases in the southern state on December 8, 10 and 14.
According to Election Commission figures, a total of 73.12 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first phase, 76.78 per cent in the second phase and 78.64 per cent in the third and final phase.
The counting began at 244 centres at 8.00 am and the final results were expected to be out by noon, Election Commission sources here said.
Postal ballots, including the special ballots issued to the COVID-19 positive voters and those under quarantine, were counted first, they said adding that the entire counting procedure was held in adherence with the COVID-19 protocols.
Section 144 has been in place in northern Malappuram and in some pockets of neighbouring Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts ahead of the announcement of the poll results.
This time, the civic body polls have gained comparatively more significance as its result is generally considered to reflect the political mindset of the southern state which would go to assembly polls after some months.
So, despite COIVD-19 protocols and restrictions, the state witnessed a fierce campaign in which everything right from the national politics to state issues became a campaign tool.
The ruling LDF, which used to showcase a good performance in the civic body polls, banked on the achievements in the development front under the four and half years old rule of Pinarayi Vijayan government.
However, opposition UDF, during the campaign, focused on various corruption charges against the government and controversies related to the gold smuggling case and allegations cropped up against the Chief Minister's office.
BJP-NDA, which was looking all means to break the decades-old bipolar polity led by UDF and LDF, was hopeful of showcasing an impressive performance and garner three-fold seats compared to the 2015 civic polls.
In 2015, the ruling Left front had nearly swept the civic polls by winning 549 village panchayats, 90 block panchayats, 44 municipalities and four corporations.
At the district panchayat level, both UDF and LDF had won 7 seats each.
BJP had come third in terms of wards in 2015 but displayed an impressive performance in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and Palakkad municipality.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
