BENGALURU: Karnataka on Tuesday saw a whopping 58,395 Covid patients being discharged, which significantly brought down active cases across the state from over six lakh to 5,75,028. While this is by far the highest number of discharges per day in the state, it is also the largest for any state in the country, with Maharashtra at number two at 52,898 discharges. As a result, Karnataka’s recovery rate jumped from 72.08 per cent on Monday to 73.68 per cent on Tuesday.
The state’s recovery rate has been improving consistently since May 8, except for two days on May 9 and 11, when it was lower than the previous day’s percentage. Since May 12, the rate has improved on all consecutive days. While active cases fell from 6,03,639 to 5.75 lakh across the state, it fell from 3,64,382 to 3,40,965 in Bengaluru.
The city’s recovery rate, too, has been increasing over the last three days, and between May 16 and 18, it has moved from 64.71 per cent to 67.29 per cent. Despite these encouraging figures, the mortality remained high with 525 patients reported dead on Tuesday, taking the state’s Covid toll to 22,838, up from 22,313 on Monday. Tuesday’s deaths are also the thirdhighest single-day deaths through the pandemic, the highest being 596 on May 10 and the second highest being 592 on May 7.
The mortality rate climbed to 1 per cent on Tuesday after having dipped to well below that point for a few days. Karnataka’s Covid tally since the pandemic broke out on March 8 last year touched 22,72,374, up from 22,42,065 the previous day, while the positivity rate increased from 8.01 per cent on Monday to 8.09 per cent. The positivity rate had dipped to as low as 4.63 per cent on April 4, but the massive surge with the second wave has forced it to rise sharply.
Bengaluru’s Covid tally stands at 10,73,072 cases (10,64,396 on Monday), with 298 deaths, taking the mortality rate from 0.91 per cent to 0.93 per cent. Tuesday also recorded Bengaluru’s third highest deaths in a single day. The city also saw 8,676 new cases, while 31,795 people were discharged in a single day.
Chinchurani is the second woman minister from CPI (after K R Gowri who had been part of the 1957 cabinet). She began her public life by associating with Balavedi and AISF. She is the state president of Kerala Mahila Sangham. Her husband D Sukesan is a CPI local leader in Kollam.
Roshy Augustine entered politics through KSC(M), the students’ wing of Kerala Congress(M). After his unsuccessful contest from Perambra constituency in 1996 at 27, Mani offered a ticket to Roshy in the 2001 assembly elections from Idukki. Roshy, who won from Idukki in 2001, has never tasted defeat since then. 
A native of Meladoor in Thrissur, Rajeeve has been living in Kalamassery for the past several years. Rajeeve, who began his public life as an SFI organiser, earned appreciation cutting across party lines as Rajya Sabha MP from 2009-2015. He is a member of the CPM state secretariat and served as Ernakulam district secretary. 
A native of Thonnoorkara in Chelakkara, Radhakrishnan entered politics through SFI while studying at Thrissur Kerala Varma College. He has represented Chelakkara constituency in the assembly for 5 terms. In the first term, he was made SC/ST Welfare minister in the E K Nayanar cabinet in 1996. He served as the assembly speaker from 2006 to 2011. 
Ollur constituency has never given a second term for a candidate during the past four decades. The CPI has named K Rajan who served as government chief whip during the previous term as minister as he broke the jinx attached to Ollur. Rajan is a state executive member of the CPI and had been AIYF national secretary. 
K Krishnankutty was water resources minister in the outgoing Pinarayi Vijayan government. A native of Chittur in Palakkad, K Krishnankutty is a farmer and an expert in inter-state river-water sharing treaties. He is the state president of the Janata Dal (S). 
Veena George is a journalist-turned-politician. She quit her job to contest the election from Aranmula in 2016. Veena’s leadership qualities were visible during the 2018 floods which had affected Pathanamthitta badly.
A native of Chovva in Kannur, Saseendran started his political career as a KSU worker. He was the district president of KSU from 1963-1966 and its state president from 1978-1980 and state president of Youth Congress. He later joined Congress(S) and his party merged with NCP when the latter was formed. The six-time MLA was first elected to the assembly in 1980 from Peringalam in Kannur. He served as the transport minister in the outgoing LDF government. 
Wife of CPM state secretary A Vijayaraghavan, she is a central committee member of All-India Democratic Women’s Association. She was the first woman mayor of Thrissur. She was the head of the department of English and vice-principal of Thrissur Kerala Varma College. 
Considered a party ideologue from Kannur, M V Govindan is a central committee member and one of the top leaders of CPM in the state. He is a member of the CPM state secretariat. A former DYFI state president, M V Govindan had served as the Chief Editor of party mouthpiece Deshabhimani for some time. He is a three-time MLA, and has won from Taliparamba constituency. 
National president of DYFI, P A Mohamed Riyas started his political career through SFI while studying at St Joseph’s High School. He was instrumental in breaking the MSF monopoly at Farooq College in 1997. He had unsuccessfully contested from Kozhikode constituency in the 2009 LS polls. Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter T Veena is his wife. 
A native of Kozhikode, Ahamed began his political life as a Muslim Students Federation activist. He has been with the organisation since the formation of the INL under the leadership of Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait. Ahamed is currently INL national general secretary. He defeated IUML’s Noorbina Rasheed in the election. 
Winning twice from a constituency that IUML kept as its citadel for more than five decades helped V Abdurahiman find a place in the government. He started his political career in KSU. He left Congress in 2014 and contested unsuccessfully against IUML from Ponnani Lok Sabha seat as an LDF candidate. 
V Sivankutty enters the cabinet with the distinction of winning back BJP’s lone sitting seat in the state. He was the state president of SFI and had served as the president of Ulloor panchayat and Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. He is currently a state committee member of CPM and CITU state secretary. His wife Parvathy Devi is the daughter of CPM ideologue the late P Govinda Pillai. 
Antony Raju trounced sitting MLA V S Sivakumar to win the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. He started his political career as the student leader of KSC, a feeder organisation of the Kerala Congress. 
Anil won the maiden assembly election from Nedumangad. He had earlier served as the health and education standing committee chairman of T’Puram corporation. He is currently the district secretary of CPI. His wife R Lathadevi is a former MLA. 
This is Balagopal’s maiden term in the assembly. He had been a Rajya Sabha member. During the tenure of V S Achuthanandan, he had been his political secretary. His political life began in SFI and he went on to become national president of SFI and DYFI. 
A two-time MP, he wrested Thrithala constituency from the Congress which it had held for a decade. He had served as district secretary, state secretary and All-India joint secretary of SFI and DYFI state and national president. He is a CPM state committee member.
College. He was first elected to the assembly in a bypoll necessitated following the death of the Chengannur MLA in 2018. He was earlier unsuccessfully contested against P C Vishnunadh from the same constituency. He was SFI district president, DYFI district secretary and CPM district secretary.
A native of Palamel in Alappuzha, he began his political career through AISF. Later, he worked as AISF state president and state executive member. He had also been an additional private secretary to former minister Binoy Viswom and Thiruvananthapuram unit manager of Janayugom, CPI mouthpiece. 
Vasavan entered politics through SFI. He was elected the CPM district secretary in 2015. After his unsuccessful contest against Oommen Chandy in Puthuppally in 1987 and 1991 assembly elections, he became an MLA in 2006 from Kottayam constituency. 
A three-time MLA from Adoor, he had started his political career as an activist of AISF and held various positions in AIYF and Kisan Sabha. A former panchayat president of Kottarakkara, he had also served as Agriculture Workers’ Welfare Board chairman.
