A court in Kerala’s Mavelikkara awarded death sentence to 15 persons associated with the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI) for the murder of BJP’s OBC morcha state secretary Ranjith Sreenivasan in Alappuzha more than two years ago. The 15 men were convicted on Jan 20, but only 14 of them were present in the court when additional sessions judge V G Sreedevi pronounced the verdict, as one convict was in hospital. Sreenivasan was attacked and killed at his home on Dec 19, 2021 in front of his family, just hours after SDPI leader KS Shan was murdered by a gang in Alappuzha. SDPI is believed to be PFI’s political arm, but had escaped the ban imposed by the Centre on PFI and its affiliated outfits in Sept 2022.
JD(S) likely to contest 4 LS seats in Karnataka
BJP and Janata Dal (Secular), which announced their alliance for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka last Sept, are reportedly on the verge of finalising the seat-sharing arrangement. According to sources, BJP is set to contest 24 of the 28 seats, while JD(S) is likely to field candidates in 4 constituencies. Despite the brewing anticipation, leaders of both parties remain tight-lipped about the details, with plans to make it official after the elections are formally announced. The sources revealed that the seats allocated to JD(S) include Mandya, Hassan, Kolar and Chikkaballapur. Initially, the party had expressed interest in contesting from Tumkur and Bangalore Rural, apart from Mandya, Hassan and Chikkaballapur, they added. All four seats that sources say have gone in the JD (S) quota, are Vokkaliga strongholds.
