WHAT TARIFFS? SNEAKERS RULE KERALA POLITICS

Politics in Kerala operates in a different universe — one in which US President Donald Trump and tariffs do not intrude.

- BY MANOJ NAIR | Business Editor

And why not, because all politics is local after all. In Kerala’s case, it’s hyper-local. When global markets went into a swoon and investors were left in a tizzy over Trump’s new import duties on the rest of the world, politics in Kerala revolved around a pair of sneakers — and not just any shoes, if all the noise around the issue on social media and news channels is to be believed.

The shoes were worn by the V.D. Satheesan, leader of the opposition in the Kerala Assembly and a trenchant critic of the LDF government. Satheesan is quite well-heeled too, in the sense that he has never hidden the fact that he comes from a wealthy background.

Now, the ‘problem’ started when he was seen sporting Cloudtilt shoes from the hugely popular On brand. And then the news cycle went into overdrive — did Satheesan’s shoes cost 300,000 rupees?