Karnataka poll: trouble erupts in Congress over candidates

April 2, 2013

Bangalore, Apr 2: Yet to finalise its candidates for the May 5 assembly polls, the Congress in Karnataka is being threatened with dissidence with supporters and opponents of probables holding demonstrations at the party office here.

The demonstrations started Monday and continued Tuesday with indications that the situation in the party would worsen once the candidates for 224 constituencies are announced in the next few days. The 225-member assembly has one nominated member.

The party Sunday faced the embarrassment of several of its women leaders staging a sit-in outside Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence in New Delhi, demanding that more women be fielded in the polls.

The party is likely to come out with the first list of candidates April 5, ending an exercise, on for weeks, to pick winnable nominees while balancing equations based on caste, religion, region and kinship.

"Our first list should be out April 5," said state Congress president G. Parameshwara, who returned to Bangalore late Sunday after a week of hectic parleys in New Delhi to draw up the list of names for final approval by Gandhi.

Nominations open April 10 and close April 17. Vote count is slated for May 8.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing a different kind of problem in selecting candidates as desertion from its ranks continues.

About 14 of its legislators have quit the assembly or legislative council and also the party to join the Karnataka Janata Party headed by former BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa.

On Monday, one more BJP legislative council member, Mohan Limbikai, quit the council and the party to join the KJP. Some more assembly and council members may quit the BJP in the next few days.

However, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar told reporters here Tuesday that the party would release the first list of candidates April 5 when the BJP parliamentary board is scheduled to meet in New Delhi to give its final approval.

The third major party, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), claims it has finalised the names of its candidate but would release the list next week, giving rise to speculation that the party is waiting for the Congress and the BJP to come out their lists first.

JD-S state president and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, however, has denied this was the reason for not releasing the list. "It is a strategy," he has claimed.

Yeddyurappa, who has declared that his main goal is to wipe out the BJP in the state, has already released the names of KJP candidates for about 120 seats.

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JD(S) leader G T Devegowda backs CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA row, taunts HDK

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October 4,2024

Mysuru: Chairman of JD(S) core committee and Chamundeshwari constituency MLA G T Devegowda on Thursday expressed his solidarity with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying the latter need not resign, while lambasting leaders of his own party and alliance partner BJP, including Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

In his speech during Mysuru Dasara inauguration he said that if persons against whom FIR is registered have to resign, many leaders from all the three parties, including Opposition Leader R Ashoka, will have to resign.

“All are sitting in glass houses... Since I know Siddaramaiah well, I am talking about him. At a time when mines and real estate are ruling politics, Siddaramaiah has survived in politics. He has never done any favour,” Devegowda said.

He added, “Allegations against Siddaramaiah are unexpected and accidental. If the Governor and Chief Justice order an investigation, it does not mean that he should resign."

He continued, asking, "Have they told Siddaramaiah to resign or have they asked to imprison him? When a person becomes a Central minister, he or she should realise their dignity and responsibility. Instead of recognising the good work done by Siddaramaiah, they ask him to resign. Will Kumarswamy (facing an FIR) resign? Should Siddaramaiah, who has become CM with a support of 135 MLAs, resign?"

"Opposition leaders are not remembering the good work of earlier CMs Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Veerendra Patil, Ramakrishna Hegde, H D Deve Gowda or S M Krishna. Karnataka is a model state. It is a bad trend to topple an elected government which is doing good work,” he further said.

Devegowda added, “Siddaramaiah is Goddess Chamundeshwari’s ‘Varaputra’ and hence has her blessings during tough times. He won the election in Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, when the BJP-JD(S) government was in power in 2006. With the blessings of the Goddess, he has held varied positions right from becoming an MLA for the first time in 1983. He presented 15 budgets and has become CM for a second time. He took H C Mahadevappa, a Dalit leader to the state level. Siddaramaiah has the support of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar as ‘Jodeththu’. Blessings of the beneficiaries of guarantee schemes are with him (Siddaramaiah).”

Siddaramaiah said, “Devegowda was a MUDA member. He knows the truth. Hence, he is saying this. His words have filled strength in me. ‘Satyameva Jayate’, Truth will always triumph.”

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BJP fields Kishore Kumar Puttur from DK-Udupi Local Authorities’ Constituency

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October 1,2024

The BJP has selected Kishore Kumar Puttur as its candidate for the bypoll to Karnataka Legislative Council from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Local Authorities’ Constituency. The by-election will be held on October 21.

Kishore Kumar is presently serving as the General Secretary of Dakshina Kannada BJP unit. He had served as vice president of State BJP Yuva Morcha from 2014 to 2016.

The by-election will be held to the seat vacated by Kota Srinivas Poojary of the BJP who has been elected as the Lok Sabha member from Udupi-Chikmagaluru Lok Sabha constituency. The vacancy was created on June 15, 2024 following Poojary’s resignation to the Council. His term in the council was till January, 2028.

In the last Council election held for the dual member constituency in December 2021, Poojary had secured 3,672 votes while the Congress candidate Manjunath Bhandary had secured 2079 votes. Poojary and Bhandary had secured required votes from the first preferential votes and had won the election.

There were several aspirants for the BJP ticket including former MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, DK BJP president Satish Kumpala, Mangaluru divisional in-charge Uday Kumar Shetty, former minister Pramod Madhwaraj and former Udupi district BJP president Kuilady Suresh Nayak.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the election. KPCC working president Manjunath Bhandary in a recent press meet in Mangaluru had said that an opportunity will be given to congress leaders from Udupi district to contest by-election.

The Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Local Authorities’ Constituency has 6037 voters including 3551 from Dakshina Kannada comprising eight MLAs, one MP. The last date for filing nomination is October 3 and the last date for withdrawal of nomination is October 7. The counting will be held on October 24.

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