kottayam l friday l may 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION ECI rolls out SIR phase 3 in 16 states, 3 Union territories ECI on Thursday rolled out phase 3 of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in 16 states and three Union Territories beginning May 30 roll revision in 4 opposition-ruled states Over 36.7 crore electors to be mapped The states and UTs are Delhi, Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Punjab, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Telangana are opposition-ruled states | P7 ■ ■ Over 3.94 lakh booth level officers (BLOs) will go house-to-house of 36.73 crore electors during the latest poll roll revision exercise. They will be assisted by 3.42 lakh booth level agents, ECI said The schedule for SIR in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be announced later keeping the weather in view 3 states/uts of himachal, j&k and ladakh will see roll revision later 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 Commander replaces captain congress announces V D Satheesan as new chief minister of Kerala VDS to lead P r ee t h a N a i r , An i l S & K S S r ee j i t h @ New Delhi/T’Puram Finally, the roulette stops at V D Satheesan. Ending days of suspense, Congress has picked up Satheesan, who commanded the UDF to a landslide victory in the assembly election, as the 13th chief minister of Keralam. The full cabinet, led by the Paravoor MLA, would take oath at the Central Stadium in the state capital on Monday May 18. , The decision, pending for 10 days, followed an intense threecornered battle involving senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and Satheesan. Crucial backing from Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, along with Congress veterans A K Antony and V M Sudheeran, ultimately tipped the scales in Satheesan’s favour. The announcement, initially expected at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, took a dramatic turn on Thursday morning after Venugopal was summoned to Rahul Gandhi’s residence for a two-hour meeting attended by Priyanka also. Soon after, the AICC hurriedly convened a press conference where general secretary Deepa Dasmunsi formally announced Satheesan as the new chief minister. Party sources said the meeting was aimed at forging a consensus across factions before making the decision public. Das Munshi noted that the CLP meeting held in Thiruvanan- INSIDE V D Satheesan is all set to take oath as the 13th CM of Kerala Full name: Vadassery Damodaran Satheesan Age: 61 years Place of birth: Nettoor, Thevara Six-time MLA from Paravoor assembly constituency– 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 Leader of Opposition from 2021 to 2026 Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan with KPCC President Sunny Joseph at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday | B P Deepu thapuram on May 7 had authorised the Congress president to appoint the new CLP leader in Kerala. While Venugopal, a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi, enjoyed the backing of a majority of Congress MLAs and MPs, Satheesan had the strong support of UDF allies, particularly the influential Indian Union Muslim League. Though Venugopal emerged as the early front-runner, sources said Satheesan steadily gained ground as the leadership leaned toward a candidate with proven grassroots appeal over conventional power equations. Priyanka is learnt to have played a decisive role, pressing the leadership to factor in the views of alliance partners before taking a final call. Soon after the announcement, Venugopal welcomed the decision, saying that as a disciplined party worker he would abide by the high command’s in span of 10 days, team UDF takes a hit | p4 The promises we made to the people of Kerala will be fulfilled one by one through hard work and dedication - V D Satheesan, CM-designate verdict. An upset Chennithala, however, openly expressed displeasure over being sidelined despite his seniority and stayed away from the CLP meeting. Though he conveyed his reluctance to join Satheesan’s cabinet, Chennithala handed over a letter of support for him to KPCC chief Sunny Joseph. AICC leaders have since stepped in to placate Chennithala and urged him to join the ● More on P5 ministry  . E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Guwahati AT least 38 people were taken ‘hostage’ by different groups in Manipur on Thursday after Wednesday’s killings of three Kuki church leaders in Kangpokpi district. “More than 38 people were detained by different groups. The persons are from both communities (Kuki and Naga),” Manipur’s home minister Govindas Konthoujam said, while stating that the state government was holding talks with civil society organisations and political leaders to ensure the safe release of those in custody . Naga organisation ‘United Naga Council’ issued an ultimatum demanding the release of all the “hostages.” It was addressed to CM Y Khemchand Singh and said 18 Naga civilians, including women and a two-year-old baby, were held hostage by Kuki groups at Leilon Vaiphei village, while two Naga priests were detained at Supermeina village. Normal life was affected on Thursday during a “shutdown” called by Kuki Inpi Manipur, protesting the killings. At the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, India on Thursday mounted a sharp critique of the growing use of unilateral sanctions and coercive economic measures, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar warning that such actions were disproportionately hurting developing countries and weakening global stability . In his national statement, Jaishankar criticised the “increasing” use of “unilateral coercive measures and sanctions inconsistent with international law and the UN Charter”. “Such measures disproportionately affect developing countries. These unjustifiable measures cannot substitute dialogue, nor can pressure replace diplomacy he said. ,” While Jaishankar did not directly name the US, the remarks come amid expanding sanc- tions targeting firms and countries trading with Iran and Russia. Such sanctions have increasingly affected access to international banking and payment systems because of the central role of the American financial network in the global economy India has consistently . opposed unilateral sanctions including in BRICS platforms. Jaishankar raised concerns over instability in West Asia and disruptions to key maritime trade routes. “The conflict in West Asia merits particular attention. Continuing tensions, risks to maritime traffic, and disruptions to energy infrastructure highlight the fragility of the situation,” he said. “Safe and unimpeded maritime flows through international waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, remain vital for global economic well-being,” he added. A decisive role played by Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi and the strong backing of senior Congress leaders from Kerala worked in favour of V D Satheesan to edge out K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala in the final rounds of consultations to choose the chief minister pick for Kerala, said party sources. While Congress ended 10 days of political uncertainty by naming Satheesan as the CM, the path to the decision-making was anything but smooth. The high-stakes battle for the CM post saw marathon meetings, swirling speculation, lastminute changes, and intense back-channel negotiations. A key factor favouring Satheesan was the risk of potential by-elections if Venugopal were chosen. The UDF would have faced two polls -- Venugopal’s assembly seat and the Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat -- under politically challenging conditions, senior leaders had warned. Sources said Priyanka ’s influence was critical, pushing for consideration of public sen- FirsT LoP, now CM post: Chennithala suffers second major Snub | p4 India criticises unilateral sanctions, coercive steps J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Priyanka’s role, senior leaders’ backing turned tide in favour of VDS P r ee t h a N a i r @ Delhi Education qualification: MSW, LLM from ‘vismayam’ to daivaniyogam’: The rise of Satheesan | p2 Manipur tense as at least 38 held ‘hostage’ full cabinet to take oath on Monday Foreign minister S Jaishankar with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi | PTI Two-state solution Jaishankar reiterated India’s support for a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestine conflict and broadened his remarks to issues ranging from terrorism and climate change to technology and global governance reform EXPRESS READ Rain, lightning kill over 100 in UP Lucknow: Heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightning wreaked havoc across Uttar Pradesh over the past 24 hours, leaving at least 100 people dead and causing widespread destruction in several districts. The highest number of 21 deaths was reported from Prayagraj. P8 ‘RailOne glitches will be addressed’ Kollam: Following a report published in TNIE, highlighting persistent glitches and inaccuracies in the RailOne application, the managing director of the Centre for Railway Information Systems, G V L Satya Kumar, assured that the issues raised would be examined and addressed. P5 BJP man ‘cracked’ NEET last year too Nashik, Dinesh Binwal, his brother Mangilal, Mangilal’s son Vikas, and Haryana resident Yash Yadav. All THE probe into the NEET paper five were taken to Delhi for leak has now expanded beinterrogation. yond the current examinaThe CBI has learned that tion cycle. Fresh revelations three daughters from the confirmed that three memfamily of Dinesh and Manbers of the family of key acgilal — Palak, Sonia and cused and BJP worker Dinesh Prakriti — had qualified Binwal had secured medical Dinesh Binwal NEET last year. They are admissions last year too. Ranow under probe. jasthan police said the 2025 NEET The probe further revealed that examination is under scrutiny too. Vikas and Yash Yadav studied toOn Thursday, the CBI secured gether at a coaching institute in transit remand for the five main ac- Sikar. During Diwali last year, Yash cused: Shubham Khairnar from allegedly told Vikas and Mangilal rajesh asnani & sudhir s u r ya w a n s h i @Jaipur/Mumbai that he could arrange the NEET question paper before the exam. Investigators found that multiple copies of the paper were printed at a press in Nashik, after which they were circulated across several states. In Maharashtra, CBI arrested two more: Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune. Manisha received money from 21 bank accounts ahead of the May 3 exam. In UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, a 21-year-old NEET aspirant hanged himself over the cancellation of the exam. timent and grassroots opinion when making the decision. The leadership was also mindful of the firm support Satheesan enjoyed from the Indian Union Muslim League, the UDF’s key ally . Sources said Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka held at least three rounds of discussions, anticipating potential setbacks in the 2029 general election. The internal divisions even spilled onto the streets. Early this week, posters appeared outside district Congress offices and Priyanka’s Wayanad office, warning Rahul a g ainst choosing Venugopal. “Mr Rahul, KC might be your bag bearer, but the people of Kerala will never forgive you,” read one of the posters. The final push for Satheesan came after Rahul’s one-on-one consultations with senior leaders, including former KPCC presidents K Muraleedharan and V M Sudheeran, and veteran leader A K Antony . They stressed that public sentiment, as reflected in widespread protests across the state, should be a decisive factor in selecting the new chief ● More on P5 minister.  when congress split, ‘firm’ iuml drew the line for satheesan | p4 Pinarayi chosen as Leader of Opposition E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is set to take on the ruling UDF as the new Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Kerala assembly . Hours after the Congress declared V D Satheesan as its chief minister pick, the CPM state committee finalised Pinarayi to take up the mantle of the Opposition. No other name came up for the position. The state committee meet presided over by K Radhakrishnan, in the presence of general secretary M A Baby and politburo member A Vijayaraghavan, unanimously e l e c t e d Pinarayi. The PB meeting on Monday had entrusted the party’s Kerala unit to take a call on the new LoP. It was evident that the responsibility would fall on the two-term CM as the entire state secretariat had backed him for the position. “He is the senior-most leader in the party and in the front. Had the LDF won the polls, he would have taken up the mantle. So how can he stay away just because the LDF lost?” asked a senior leader. “Moreover, like the PB pointed out the other day, the party and the front have collective responsibility The onus cannot be put . on a single leader,” he said. There were speculation that in view of the humiliating defeat in the assembly polls, the veteran leader may choose to ● More on P5 keep away  .