A devotee at a temple before their pilgrimage to Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala in Chennai on November 17, 2019. In the general election, the Left won just one of the state’s 20 Lok Sabha seats. It launched a house-to-house visit by senior leaders explaining the circumstances that had prompted the government to promote the safe entry of young women into the temple. In the recent Assembly by-elections, the Left won the Konni seat in Pathanamthitta district, the abode of Ayyappa and the epicentre of last year’s agitation. Going by precedent, the seven-judge bench might well hear the Sabarimala case just before the state elections.

Source: The Telegraph November 17, 2019 22:41 UTC