Firstpost Editor's Picks: BJP and Congress' emergence in Kerala, Dantewada attack, saffronisation of coastal Karnataka; today's must-read stories

Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad, Emergence of BJP, Sabarimala row alters vote bank for CPM-led LDF in Kerala Rahul Gandhi’s entry has reinforced the commitment of minority communities towards the UDF and Congress, which is expected to get reflected in the Lok Sabha election. Just-released results of a state-wide survey reveal overwhelming support for Rahul among the minorities and women. Circumstances have also played truant with the CPM strategy of projecting itself as the new champion of the minorities. In fact, internecine fights among the church factions have further complicated the issue. How coastal Karnataka was saffronised; part 9: Flag wars hit Dakshina Kannada port, Bunder shows how commerce trumps communalism Caution is the omnipresent sentiment at Coastal Karnataka’s oldest fishing port of Dakshin Kannada situated in Bunder where Muslims and Christians collectively own 52 percent of the boats here and Hindu communities own 48 percent. These factors make it an ideal battleground and yet, the port has remained unscathed because of a secular logic that has survived countless political upheavals through the centuries. The culture of flag wars at the Bunder isn’t more than two decades old. It started after the Surathkal riots of 1998, in which the Sangh played a major role. Dantewada MLA Bhima Mandavi killed by Naxals: Intelligence failure, non-adherence to SOPs and leaks to blame The Naxals in the region have repeatedly check-mated the state police and paramilitary personnel, sending out a loud message that not only does their war with the Indian State continues, but that they are very serious about it. It has also been observed that the intelligence network of the Maoists has remained stronger and more efficient than that of the forces. Difficult terrain, use of local dialects, involvement of some local tribal villagers, active Jan Militia cadres, the failure of successive governments in the past to redress grievances of the tribal population have given an edge to the Naxals. Champions League: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's resurgent Manchester United face litmus test as Lionel Messi's Barcelona come calling Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there is free reign to attack, and the leeway will shrink with every drop in performance. There is now an unmistakable air of expectation around the team to perform substantially for the remainder of the season, something that both the management and players must adapt to. Purely for those reasons, they couldn’t have landed a worse opponent at this stage than Lionel Messi’s Barcelona. Game of Thrones season 8: Daenerys Targaryen's visions may have already predicted fate of King's Landing Fans of both George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books and the Game of Thrones television show have long known that the visions Daenerys Targaryen sees in the House of the Undying foretell the future to a certain extent. What is actually being foretold is, well, difficult to foretell — mainly because Daenerys’ visions are described differently in A Clash of Kings (book two of ASOIAF) and ‘Valar Morghulis’ (Season 2, Episode 10).