Karnataka CM race: SWOC analysis of DKS and Siddaramaiah

News Network
May 15, 2023

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After the Congress's emphatic 135-seat win in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls, the focus has now shifted to the all-important question, "who will be the Chief Minister."

And the race for the top post has heated up between old warhorses Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, with both leaders making no secret of their ambition to lead the southern state. The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has unanimously authorised All India Congress Committee (AICC) President M Mallikarjun Kharge to pick its leader, who will be the next chief minister of the state.

Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges) analysis of the two aspiring CMs.

Siddaramaiah:

Strengths:
•    Mass appeal across the state
•    Popular among a large section of Congress legislators
•    Experience of having run a full-term government as Chief Minister (2013-18).
•    Able administrator with experience of having presented 13 budgets.
•    Clout among the AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits).
•    Strong ability to take on BJP and JD(S), most importantly PM Modi and his government on issues.
•    Considered close to Rahul Gandhi and apparently has his backing.

Weaknesses: 
•    Not so much organisationally connected with the party.
•    Failure in bringing the Congress government back to power in 2018 under his leadership.
•    Still considered an outsider by a section of Congress old guard. He was formerly with the JD(S).
•    Age factor- Sidddaramiah is 75.

Opportunities: 
*Acceptability, appeal and experience to take along every one to run a government with a decisive mandate, and strengthen Congress for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
* IT, ED and CBI cases against opponent Shivakumar, who is also eyeing the CM post.
*Last election and last chance to become CM.
 
Challenges:
•    Uniting of senior Congress old guards like Mallikarjun Kharge, G Parameshwara, who have missed becoming CM because of Siddaramaiah, also B K Hariprasad, K H Muniyappa among others against him.
•    Call for a Dalit CM. *Shivakumar's organisational strength, party's 'troubleshooter' tag, loyalty image across the country, and closeness to Gandhi family, especially Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

D K Shivakumar: 

Strengths:
•    Strong organisational capabilities and having led the party to victory in elections.
•    Known for party loyalty.
•    Considered Congress' ace troubleshooter during difficult times.
•    Resourceful leader.
•    Has the backing of the dominant Vokkaliga community, its influential seers and leaders.
•    Closeness to Gandhi family. * Age factor on his side.
•    Long political experience; has handled various portfolios.

Weaknesses:
•     Cases against him before IT, ED and CBI.
•    Jail term in Tihar
•    Lesser mass appeal and experience compared to Siddaramaiah. 
•    Clout by and large limited to the Old Mysuru region.
•    Not having much backing from other communities.

Opportunities: 
•    Congress' domination of the Old Mysuru region would go to Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga.
•    KPCC President, as the natural choice to be the CM, like in the case of SM Krishna and Veerendra Patil.
•    Chances of the party old guard backing him.

Challenges:
•    Siddaramaiah's experience, seniority and mass appeal.
•    Chances of large number of MLAs backing Siddaramaiah.
•    Legal hurdles because of cases filed by central agencies.
•    Call for a Dalit or Lingayat CM.
•    Rahul Gandhi's apparent backing of Siddaramaiah.

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News Network
November 18,2024

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Mangaluru: The Ullal police have arrested Manohar, the owner of Vazco Beach Resort, and its manager Bharath in connection with the drowning of three college girls from Mysuru at the resort’s swimming pool on November 17.

City Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal confirmed the arrests, stating that a case has been registered under Section 106 of BNS. The bodies of the victims, all in their twenties, have been handed over to their parents. The women had arrived at the resort for a weekend getaway on November 16.

Following the tragic incident, the resort was sealed by officials led by Mangaluru Assistant Commissioner Harshavardhan. The trade license of the resort, issued on June 13, 2024, has been suspended, and the tourism department has temporarily revoked the resort's registration. These actions prohibit the resort from engaging in any tourism-related activities until further notice.

Someshwara TMC Chief Officer stated that the suspension was due to the resort's failure to implement adequate safety measures, which resulted in the loss of three lives. Further investigations are underway.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says its fighters have killed at least 20 Israeli soldiers in northern parts of the besieged Gaza Strip in just two days, in retaliation for the occupying regime’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

In a statement on Monday evening, Hamas said that fighters of its military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, “killed at least five occupation soldiers” in northern parts of the coastal territory earlier in the day.

It added that Hamas fighters also killed 15 Israeli soldiers in the war-ravaged region on Sunday.

The resistance movement’s “qualitative operation … confirms once again the failure of the criminal Zionist entity to suppress and eradicate the Palestinian resistance, which continues to direct qualitative strikes against its terrorist soldiers,” Hamas further said on its Telegram channel.

Palestinians have increased their resistance operations in the face of intensified Israeli aggression in northern Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 over the past weeks.

“Our valiant resistance is waging a war of attrition with the criminal enemy, inflicting daily losses on its soldiers and vehicles, and all of [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bets and dreams of achieving any of his goals are failing,” the Gaza-based resistance movement added.

Hamas also vowed that Israel’s ongoing crimes and aggression against Gaza would be met with increased resistance and painful strikes, which will continue until the aggression against Palestinians ends and the regime fully withdraws from the blockaded territory.

As the war in Gaza enters its 14th month, the Health Ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed at least 43,603 Palestinians and wounded 102,929 others.

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