Political parties upbeat as Assembly poll battle begins in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Political parties in Kerala expressed confidence about the electoral battle ahead soon after the Election Commission on Sunday announced the schedule for the Assembly polls.
The Assembly election for 140 seats will be held in Kerala on April 9.
Both the CPI(M) and the CPI of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) were the first to announce their candidates, and many of them kicked off their election campaigns soon after the announcements.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said seat sharing in the Front has almost been completed on time, and clarity is required for only a few seats.
"Even though the seat-sharing consensus has been reached in the Front, candidates are being decided by the respective parties. They will announce candidates separately," he said.
He said the CPI(M) has already announced candidates, and campaign activities have begun.
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Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan, said the United Democratic Front (UDF) will contest the elections as a united team.
"It is the team UDF that is facing the election. We will return to power with over 100 seats," he said.
Satheesan said the confidence of winning over 100 seats stems from the UDF’s victories in recent bypolls and local body elections.
He said the Congress is also ready to announce its candidates.
"We have said that after the election announcement, we will announce candidates within 24 hours. There is no doubt about it," he said.
Satheesan added that the candidates would be announced in New Delhi after party leaders reach there on Monday.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said only 25 days remain to bring about a change of government.
"It is not a time for rest. Everyone should move forward with vigour. For the UDF, it is the final phase after victories in the bypolls and local body elections," he said.
Thangal also said the Muslim League would soon announce its candidates as the final round of discussions would conclude shortly.
The BJP is also expected to announce its candidates in the coming days.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
