Unlike larger parties, IUML contests on limited seats but maintains a high strike rate, making it an indispensable ally. In 2021, it had contested on 25 seats and won 15.
There have been fears about IUML's declining prominence in its bastion, Kerala, following a poor performance in 2021 assembly elections as the Left gains ground among Muslims.
So entrenched is Wayanad with the Ramayana — a result of an oral tradition rendered by the district's tribals — that 30 places are named after the epic.
The upgradation of the CSC has an impact on all countries in the Indian Ocean, but for India, it serves multiple strategic functions that other groupings cannot fully deliver.
If successful, its exit would mark the first observed passage by an India-linked tanker since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing Hormuz transits to nearly zero.
Historically, and instinctively, India has seen threats emerging from the west and the north, from Pakistan and China. The east has received less attention.
COMMENTS