KOCHI l Saturday l may 09, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION U.S. court strikes down donald Trump’s 10% global tariffs A US trade court dealt a fresh blow to President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy on Friday, ruling that his new 10% global tariffs were unlawful no justification to enact tariffs : court trump administration can appeal ruling Trump had imposed the temporary 10% duty in February under a national emergency law, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down double-digit tariffs the president had levied in 2025 on most nations around the world. In a 2-1 ruling, the panel of judges at the US Court of International Trade found the “administration lacked the justification to enact the tariffs” | P9 ■ ■ A majority of two judges on the three-judge panel wrote in the ruling that the tariffs were “invalid” and “unauthorized by the law” The Trump administration can appeal the court’s decision, turning first to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington and then, potentially, to the Supreme Court once again 3.3 lakh importers are eligible for refunds after the court order CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI IUML backs out, VCK yet to confirm support Mamata’s nemesis elected BJP legislature party leader TVK founder-president Vijay, along with party functionaries, met with Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar for the third time on Friday, and submitted letters of support from MLAs-elect belonging to the Congress, CPI, CPM and TVK | Express Vijay still two short of the hot seat in TN walkthrough of Friday’s drama e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai Four days after the elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly resulted in a fractured mandate, the fledgling TVK, with its 108 seats, on Friday was still two seats short of the 118 MLAselect required for the party to form a government and its chief C Joseph Vijay to occupy the chief minister’s seat. For the third day in a row, Vijay called on Governor Rajendra Arlekar to stake his claim as the leader of the single largest party in the new House. From its 108 seats in the Assembly the TVK’s strength will , reduce to 107 once Vijay resigns from one of the two constituencies from which he was elected. The TVK’s post-poll alliance with the Congress (five seats) takes the tally up to 112. On Friday the CPI and CPM, with two , MLAs-elect each, offered their support to the TVK from the o u t s i d e, b r i n g i n g T V K ’s strength up to 116, only two short of the magic figure. The bone of contention turned out to be the will-they, won’t-they dance of two DMK allies, the VCK and IUML. Lok Bhavan sources said during that Friday’s meeting, Vijay said both parties, with two MLAs-elect each, promised to support the TVK and that their letters would come in due course. The governor was said to be waiting for the letters to arrive. However, the IUML, by evening, clarified that they remained with the DMK camp and would not be supporting the TVK. The VCK, which appeared to have all but sealed the deal with the TVK, did not send any letter of support by end of day . Senior VCK leaders visited DMK chief M K Stalin at his house late on Friday night but sources maintained that VCK would announce its outside 1 Stalin said they were considering extending external support to the AIADMK and sought our backing. We told him it was not in our alignment since the AIADMK is with BJP M A Baby, CPM gen secy DMK seeks change in LS seating In a sign of deepening tensions, the DMK on Friday formally sought a separate seating arrangement for its Lok Sabha MPs following the collapse of its alliance with the Congress | P7 Following separate executive committee meetings, M Veerapandian and P Shanmugam, the state-unit leaders of the CPI and CPM respectively, announce external support to actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in a joint press meet 2 Vijay meets with Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar for the third time. He submits letters of support from MLAselect of the Congress, CPI, CPM and his party 3 VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan holds a high-level meeting with party officebearers via Zoom. According to sources, the party is likely to follow the Left parties’ stance. However, any decision will only be announced by Saturday 4 The IUML, with two MLAs-elect, says it has not backed the TVK and will remain in the DMK alliance. In an earlier letter, the party had stated it would support the governor’s efforts to form a government and DMK president M K Stalin’s request to the governor in this regard 5 The governor’s office announces that the TVK has backing from 116 MLAselect so far, with the VCK yet to submit its letter and the IUML withdrawing support support to TVK on Saturday . In his 15-minute meeting with the governor, Vijay had showed his letters of support from the Left parties and explained that the VCK and IUML had promised support. He requested that the TVK be invited to form the next government. He was accompanied by senior TVK leaders N Anand, K A Sengottaiyan, and Aadhav Arjuna. Curiously, Venkat Narayanan, the producer of Vijay’s film Jana Nayagan, also accompanied the TVK functionaries. With the Lok Bhavan yet to respond to the TVK’s latest effort, the party has put off the swearing-in ceremony that was tentatively planned for May 9 as the governor had given them time only till May 10. At present, only the Congress has taken up the TVK’s offer of a share of power in the state government and is likely to receive a ministerial berth in the cabinet. S Rajeshkumar, who was elected leader of the legislative party for the Congress, would likely take office as minister in a Vijay cabinet, Congress sources said. Adding to the drama in a week with no shortage of it, a lawyer claiming to be a TVK member on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the governor to invite the single largest political party to form the government. KC remains key contender for Kerala chief ministership Union home minister Amit Shah with West Bengal CM-elect Suvendu Adhikari after his election as BJP legislature party chief on Friday in Kolkata | PTI Supporters of V D Satheesan take out a march to express solidarity with the leader in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday | B P Deepu s u v e n d u m a i t i @ Kolkata P REETHA NA I R & K S SREE J I TH Suvendu is the Kerala CM contest chosen one in WB in crucial phase @ New Delhi / T’Puram SENIOR BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, the giant-slayer who defeated TMC chief Mamata Banerjee for two consecutive terms, was unanimously elected leader of the BJP legislature party and the next chief minister of West Bengal on Friday . Adhikari and his council of ministers will be sworn in at a grand ceremony at the Brigade Parade Grounds on Saturday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, top ministers and some 20 chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. Shah, the BJP’s central observer for the elections, made the announcement of Suvendu’s election before the 207 newly elected MLAs at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre on Friday . “Eight proposals were given but all of them elected Suvendu Adhikari as the leader. No second proposal came. Therefore, I announce Suvendu Adhikari as the chief minister of West Bengal,” he said. “Suvendu has defeated Mamata-di at her home turf,” Shah added. Names of journalist Swapan Dasgupta and state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had surfaced in the race, but Adhikari remained the frontrunner after the BJP’s landslide on May 4. Hours after his election, Adhikari proceeded to Lok Bhavan with MLAs’ letters of support staking his claim to form the government. Governor R N Ravi had dissolved the assembly on Thursday clearing the path , for the new administration. Adhikari will be Bengal’s ninth Chief Minister. The last time Bengal had a chief minister from its rural backyards and not from its capital in Kolkata was in 1971 when Ajoy Mukherjee, representing the Indian National Congress (Requisitionists), a breakaway faction led by Indira Gandhi after the Congress split in 1969, took charge for his third stint as the state’s CM. Adhikari quit Trinamool in 2020, joined the BJP, and defeated Mamata in Nandigram in 2021 and Bhabanipur in 2026. For Adhikari, the moment marks a full circle with the culmination of a turbulent political journey that traversed the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and finally the BJP transforming him from Banerjee’s , trusted lieutenant into her fiercest political challenger and eventually the face of Bengal’s first saffron government. Assembly elections The people of Bengal have given us a historic mandate. We will fulfil all the promises made in the BJP’s poll manifesto in Bengal Suvendu Adhikari, WB CM-elect ‘Infiltration will be impossible’ Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said infiltration would become “impossible” in West Bengal under the new BJP government. The importance of this victory is that it plugs one of the biggest holes in national security. Now infiltration and cow smuggling will be impossible,” Shah asserted TMC seeks CBI probe TMC leader Saugata Roy on Friday demanded a court-monitored CBI probe into killing of cadres and vandalism in post-poll violence in West Bengal 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express amid a three-way leadership contest within the Congress over Kerala’s next chief minister pick, the stakes are high for AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, according to sources familiar with the developments. On Friday night, senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan, the other two contenders, reached New Delhi, where crucial discussions between the high command and the three CM aspirants are set to take place. AICC-appointed observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik, who met the newly elected party MLAs, MPs, allies and senior leaders on Thursday submitted their report to , party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday. A copy of the report was also sent to senior leader Rahul Gandhi. Sources indicated that Kharge and Rahul are likely to hold one-to-one meetings with each of the CM contenders. “Since one of the contenders, Venugopal, is currently serving as the AICC general secretary, the final decision will largely rest with Rahul,” high command sources said. The prospects of Venugopal emerging as CM pick gained fresh momentum after a TNIE report, along with a photograph of the list of supporters in the possession of Wasnik, showed a considerable section of MLAs endorsed him. Although the observers did not make any recommendation for a specific candidate, sources said a majority of the party MLAs are in favour of making Venugopal the CM, while public sentiment is leaning towards Satheesan. The observers conveyed to Kharge the public mood, the preferences of UDF allies and Swearing-in ceremony expected on Monday Sources said a consensus is likely after the high command meets K C Venugopal, V D Satheesan, and Ramesh Chennithala. The final decision would be taken after internal deliberations among Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. An announcement is likely within a day or two and the swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held on Monday the political situation in the state. Sources said the public show of strength by the Satheesan camp has not gone down well with the central leadership and might work against his prospects, citing the Rajasthan situation where Sachin Pilot’s open push for the CM post complicated internal party equations. KPCC president Sunny Joseph and working presidents A P Anil Kumar and Shafi Parambil have also reached Delhi. Sources said Kharge and Rahul would convene a meeting of Kerala leaders and the contenders to formally communicate the high command’s decision. “Rahul is also likely to explain how the high command arrived at its decision, along with the political and social considerations behind it,” they added. Major organ donation forgery racket busted Alternative Left platform J o s e K J o s e p h @ Kochi Fake seals, forged papers Police have launched an extensive investigation into a suspected organised organ donation racket that allegedly operated using forged documents, fabricated approvals and fake official records. The racket was busted on Friday following credible intelligence inputs received by Ernakulam Rural Police. Acting on the information, investigators conducted raids on a digital studio operated by the accused under the Kunnathunadu police station limits, where several forged records and related materials were recovered. The case, registered at Kunnathunadu station on Friday, named six accused allegedly in- Three persons arrested in Ernakulam dist, two in Kollam Accused functioned as facilitators in a network that forged consent letters, certificates and other records used for organ donation, say police Fake letterheads of MPs, MLAs, prominent doctors and senior police officers recovered  Police probing interstate links and number of victims volved in preparing forged documents required for organ donation approvals. Police said the accused functioned as facilitators in an organised network that forged consent let- ters, affidavits, certificates and other records used for organ donation procedures from 2023. The accused have been identified as Najeeb Kallatra of Peringala, his wife Rasheeda, Sunny Varghese, 56, his wife Sini Varghese, 50, Asif, a resident of Ernakulam, and Sanoj, a native of Pattimattam. Police have arrested Sunny Varghese, Sini Varghese and Sanoj, while efforts are under way to trace the remaining suspects. Apart from the arrests made by Ernakulam police, Kilikollur police in Kollam also arrested two persons — Sreeja, 40, and Sudheer, 31 — in connection with the case as part of the widening investigation into the alleged racket. Terming it a ‘major racket,’ Ernakulam Rural SP K S Sudarshan said investigators suspect the network may have operated beyond Ernakulam district. “It is a major racket and is suspected to have roots in other districts too. We have formed a special team to nab the others involved in the operation and conduct a detailed investigation into their activities,” the district police chief said. During the raid at the studio run by the accused, investigators recovered forged letterheads and fabricated records purportedly issued in the names of MPs, MLAs, many prominent doctors in Kerala, senior police officers and medical laboratories. The recovery of fake seals and forged letter pads bearing the names of elected representatives, doctors and senior police officials has significantly widened the ● More on P4 scope of probe.  of CPM rebels in the offing M P P r a s h a n t h @ Kozhikode Elated by the results of the just-concluded assembly polls, groups and individuals who were alienated from the CPM due to different reasons are planning to form a common platform to further the ‘alternative left politics’ in Kerala. The rebels are particularly enthused by the victories of for mer CPM leaders T K Govindan in Taliparamba and V Ku n h i k r i s h n a n i n Payyannur. The meeting of these groups is likely to be held in Kozhikode in the coming days. “There are several people with Left orientation who kept away from electoral politics due to their disenchantment with the cur- Rebels are elated by victories of T K Govindan (left) and V Kunhikrishnan rent plight of the CPM. Such people actively took part in this election, which is visible in the results,” said N V Balakrishanan, social activist and former CPM Koyilandi area secretary . “There are also people inside the party who are dejected with the current way of functioning of the CPM. The claim that the party will rectify its mistakes is a big joke. I have a bundle of rectification documents with me but none of them was put into practice,” he said, adding that CPM had almost reached a point of no-return. He said the thought of a new platform for the like-minded people stemmed from the realisation that the mistakes committed by the CPM cannot be corrected. “The idea is still in its embryonic stage. We will have to sit and discuss the future course of action,” Balakrishnan said. T K Govindan, former member of CPM Kannur district secretariat, who won election as a UDF-backed independent from Taliparamba, said those who will be expelled from the party for speaking up against the leadership will not be or● More on P4 phaned.