A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till on Monday, even as parties faced "rebel trouble" in several segments.
Security was beefed up on Monday a day after a row broke out over the removal of a saffron Hanuman flag from Keragodu village in Mandya, with protests demanding its restoration and the incident sparking a political confrontation between the Congress government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular).
Was C M Ibrahim's Rediff Interview the last straw for Deve Gowda?
Gandhi said the 5 'guarantees' promised by the party will be implemented within a few hours after the first Cabinet meeting.
Sudhakar and Somashekar were earlier with the Congress. They were among the 17 Congress-Janata Dal Secular legislators who quit and defected to BJP that led to the collapse of the coalition government and paved the way for BJP to come to power.
Gandhi drove to Kharge's residence and held a closed-door meeting with the Congress chief.
In its Karnataka assembly poll manifesto, which was released on May 2, the Congress said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the PFI "spreading hatred" among communities on the grounds of caste and religion.
Bommai on Friday met BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa along with other party leaders, including ministers Murugesh Nirani, Byrathi Basavaraj, party MP Lehar Singh Siroya and A T Ramaswamy, at the former chief minister's residence.
Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy said that his party is expected to take a "hit" in up to 25 assembly segments, where it had chances of winning, due to financial crunch, in the Karnataka elections held on Wednesday.
Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of JD-S patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, and is the only candidate from the party to have won the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka in 2019.
The court, however, kept the disqualification in suspension for one month, allowing Swamy to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Congress leaders and workers from Kolar have been exerting pressure on the Congress legislature party leader to contest from there.
The first Karnataka legislative assembly session, after the formation of the new government will be held on starting Monday next week in Bengaluru.
Kumaraswamy was speaking after releasing the first list of 93 JD-S candidates for the election.
The Lok Sabha member from Dakshina Kannada met family members of Krishnappa, a BJP worker who was allegedly hacked to death, while his wife and son were grievously injured in the attack after they protested against bursting of crackers outside their house in Bengaluru Rural district's Hoskote on Sunday.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday appeared to be warming up to the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that "a new chapter has to begin to control looters" as he targeted the Congress government alleging corruption.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mandya to inaugurate the 10-lane Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway, independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Friday extended her complete support to the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the disqualification of Janata Dal-Secular MLA D C Gowrishankar Swamy from the Tumkur Rural constituency in Karnataka and allowed him to contest the upcoming assembly polls in the southern state.
Shiv Sena will support National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, party president Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 30 of the total 50 seats in the region in the 2018 assembly polls, followed by Congress 17, Janata Dal-Secular 2, and others (KPJP-Shankar) 1.
Three of the fence-sitters rule fairly large states Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha that together send 63 members to Lok Sabha -- where the Congress or other opposition parties have been pushed to the margins.
Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday said the party's second list of candidates for the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, including for the contentious Hassan seat, will be finalised on April 7.
In a brief statement, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit said, Ali, MP from Amroha, has been suspended for anti-party activities.
Raising doubts about the longevity of the Siddaramaiah-led new Congress government in Karnataka, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday said its future is dependent on the results of the 2024 Parliament elections.
The move was also seen as placating the Lingayat community, which is considered to be the core vote base of the party with some exceptions in the previous Assembly polls, and also to keep party strong man and octogenarian leader B S Yediyurappa in good humour.
Celebrations on New Year's Day should last only till 1 am, Health Minister K Sudhakar said.
Shankar went to Karnataka Legislative Council chairman Basavaraj Horatti's office and tendered his hand-written resignation.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Chandrappa's appointment follows the demise of KPCC working president and former MP R Dhruvanarayana.
The padyatra concluded at the Lal Chowk area on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi unfurling the national flag but the official closing would take place on Monday in Srinagar, amid snowfall.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said, he is not giving priority to such things and was concentrating on strengthening the party.
Several BJP and JD-S leaders joining the Congress ahead of the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka is an evidence to prove that public sentiment is in favour of the party and it will come to power, its state unit President D K Shivakumar said on Monday.
The school authorities immediately alerted police, who reached the institutions concerned with the bomb disposal squads and anti-sabotage check teams, they said, while indicating the bomb threat could be a hoax.
Vast experience in running the government and mass appeal across the state have favoured Siddaramaiah in the tightly contested race for Karnataka chief minister.
Deriving from Narendra Modi's continuing charisma, the proposed scheme, if and when implemented, can cut both ways. That is to say, if Modi can win, he can lose. Or, someone else in his place, later on, could lose as much as he could win in his time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'They know the people of Karnataka will not accept it.'
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
The two bandhs reflect the divide among the farmers and pro-Kannada organisations, and has also now led to a confusion about who is supporting the bandh on which day, and whether services will be available on Tuesday.
According to Congress, the five schemes are 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).
HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister, will contest from Channapatna where he had won the election defeating local heavyweight CP Yogeshwar in 2018.
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