Malfunctioning of more than 250 electronic voting machines and heavy rain affected polling in the second and final phase of elections to the local self governments in Kerala today. Repoll in 114 booths on Friday.
KPPC President V. M. Sudheeran said here today that the party would discuss the demand for resignation of Finance Minister K. M. Mani over bar-bribery case after the elections to local bodies.
The second phase covers 12651 wards of three-tier panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations in the remaining seven districts— Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Palakkad. As many as 44388 candidates are in the fray in these districts.
The competition section of International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2015) will feature 15 films from various countries.
Over 76 per cent of the electorate has voted in the first phase of the polling in the elections to the local bodies in Kerala.
News in brief
Noisy scenes
Noisy scenes in the Assembly over alleged leak of Budget proposals in the social media.
Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the sanctity of the Budget is lost and Opposition members staged protest in the House.
The Congress-led Opposition later boycotted the remaining part of the presentation.
Tax on solar devices
Solar installations will attract only one per cent tax. This will have retrospective effect from April 2013 when the tax for solar devices were reduced. However, installation did not get the benefit as 14.5 per cent tax on works contract applied.
Natural Rubber
Exemption announced for natural rubber and its variants by previous government for the period from 20th December 2014 to 31st March 2015 will be given effect by incorporating provisions for that in the Finance Act.
