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 ■ ■ tirupati l thursday l may 28, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION SC gives stamp of approval to poll body’s SIR ED search at Pinarayi’s house sparks violence, cars attacked Lokesh: 33% quota for women in TDP tickets E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i ce S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada THE Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday raided two premises linked to CPM stalwart and Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and eight other locations across the state, in connection with the ExalogicCMRL pay-off case, sparking violent protests by agitated CPM workers, who smashed the vehciles in which the search party was returning after the raid in Thiruvanathapuram. Besides the former CM’s rented house in the state capital, the ED also raided his Kannur residence and the Kozhikode house of his son-inlaw and ex-minister P A Mohammed Riyas as part of its money-laundering probe into the case linked to Pinarayi’s daughter, Veena T, owner of the now-defunct Exalogic. The sweep triggered day-long tension and high drama in Thiruvananthapuram. CPM workers and leaders gathered On Day-1 of the Mahanadu, the annual conclave of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday, party working president and Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh made a key and sensational proposal for allocation of 33% reservation for women within the party for the 2029 General Elections. As this year’s Mahanadu themed around ‘Stree Shakti’, the announcement is being seen as a major political and ideological commitment towards women-led leadership and gender equality in Indian politics. The proposal comes at a time when the Women’s Reservation Bill continues to face political hurdles and opp o s i t i o n re s i s t a n c e i n Parliament. TDP’s move is now being viewed as an attempt to lead @ T’Puram S U C HITRA K A LYAN M O HANT Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the power of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, noting that the poll body did not violate the Representation of People’s (RP) Act by ordering the SIR in Bihar. “The ECI has the authority to conduct the SIR exercise and did not transgress any statutory or constitutional provision,” the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said, adding it breathed life into the constitutional mandate to conduct fair and fair polls. On the sensitive question of citizenship, the court said the ECI is empowered to conduct a limited scrutiny of citizenship status while preparing and revising electoral rolls. But deletion of names do not amount to a determination of citizenship in the strict sense. “It affects the individual’s entitlement to be included in the electoral roll, and thereby their right to participate in the electoral process. It does not, however, operate to divest the individual of claims of citizenship, nor does it foreclose a determination of that question by the Competent Authority under the Citizenship Act,” the court said. The bench went on to say that the SIR satisfies the requirements of proportionality The . measures adopted bear a rational nexus to the objective sought to be achieved, are not manifestly excessive, and are accompanied by sufficient safeguards against arbitrary exclusion, the bench said. As for deletions, the court said the ECI shall refer all such cases within four weeks to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955, for adjudication of citizenship. The competent authority shall take the call preferably before the next election cycle after giving notice and an opportunity of hearing to the deleted individuals. TDP working president Nara Lokesh addressing party’s rank and file during the hybrid Mahanadu from the party’s central office on Wednesday | Express ‘Just the beginning’ Pinarayi said the ED action was just the beginning of possible future measures targetting him. “This is not the first time such an event has taken place. ED has been hoping for such a raid for quite long... However, this does not mark our end,” he said CPM workers attack car of ED officials who searched Pinarayi Vijayan’s house in T’Puram on Wednesday | Albin Mathew outside Pinarayi’s residence and staged a sit-in at the gate. Tensions escalated after protest marches by SFI activists and soon exploded into violence as ED officials concluded the raid and began leaving the premises after an eight-hour search. Enraged CPM workers sorrounded their convoy and pelted the vehicles with bricks and stones, shattering windshields and door windows. Three rented cars were damaged in the attack, leaving both ED officials and drivers injured. by example rather than wait for national political consensus. Leaders of the TDP say that over the last few years, Lokesh has consistently focused on women’s empowerment across sectors, from introducing progressive changes in education and textbooks to repeatedly advocating respect and dignity for women within political and social spaces. Lokesh said he strongly believes that the next era of Indian politics must belong to women leadership. He said the NDA government had already taken a historic step by bringing the Women’s Reservation Bill and stressed that women must not remain mere beneficiaries of welfare schemes but should become active decision-makers in governP4 ance and politics. express read Naidu pitches welfare, growth at Mahanadu Vijayawada: CM N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday highlighted the coalition government’s welfare and development initiatives. Addressing the virtual Mahanadu, he said the BJP-Jana Sena-TDP alliance was formed to protect democracy | P4 Online gaming: SC okays 28% retrospective GST New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the 28% retrospective GST on online gaming companies. It also upheld the validity of laws by TN and Karnataka, which banned online games, including those of skill such as rummy and poker | P10 Byju Raveendran sentenced to jail New Delhi: A Singapore court sentenced Byju Raveendran, founder of Byju’s, to six months in jail for contempt of court over alleged non-compliance with disclosure orders. It was not clear whether he was in Singapore at the time of the order | P10 Shivakumar likely to take over as Karnataka CM on Friday or Sunday CM rejects Eid invites Siddaramaiah turned down Eid lunch offers for Thursday saying he would be resigning that day, sources told TNIE B A L A C HA U HAN & D E V ARA J B HIR E HA L L I @ Bengaluru KARNATAKA Deputy Chief Minister Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar is likely to succeed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was asked by the party high command to step down and move to the Rajya Sabha to play a ‘larger role’ at the national level. The Congress high command decided to hand over the mantle to Shivakumar after party chief Mallikarjun Kharge turned down the offer to lead Kar nataka citing age and health issues, sources said. While the Congress leadership is keen on completing the power transfer process quickly and smoothly no date has been , fixed for the oath-taking of the new CM. Sources said it could happen on May 29 or May 31. Celebrations have already begun at Shivakumar’s residence and in his assembly con- stituency Kanakapura. Siddaramaiah has called for a breakfast meeting with his cabinet colleagues on Thursday, and is likely to tender his resignation in the afternoon. Shivakumar, who returned from Delhi on Wednesday, spoke to his mentor, astrologer and spiritual guru Rajguru Bellur Sankaranarayanan Dwarakanath and sought his blessings. Dwarkanath told TNIE that Shivakumar “is waiting for a formal announcement on his appointment as CM.” Meanwhile, AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala held talks with Siddaramaiah seeking his cooperation for a smooth transition of power. Siddaramaiah’s followers staged a protest against the high command when Surjewala arrived for the meeting.