Leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra slammed Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's statement that a meeting between a delegation of Maharashtra MPs and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue would not make any difference to the border dispute.
This is a brief background of the new Cabinet Ministers.
Amid mounting opposition pressure for his resignation over the death of a civil contractor, senior Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa on Wednesday ruled out stepping down from his post, as he wondered if a Whatsapp message can be treated as a 'death note'.
HD Kumaraswamy, former chief minister, will contest from Channapatna where he had won the election defeating local heavyweight CP Yogeshwar in 2018.
In the advisory to political parties, the poll authority also emphasised on "clean and serious" campaign as electioneering reached feverish pitch in the southern state.
Savadi would now be the grand old party's candidate in Athani in Belagavi district, Congress leaders said.
Despite his statement that the word 'Hindu' is Persian and it has a 'dirty' meaning drawing widespread criticism, Karnataka Congress Working President Satish Jarkiholi on Tuesday sought to defend himself saying he was only referring to what has been written and published.
Talking to reporters, he claimed that despite a split in the Shiv Sena, majority of the "hardcore" Shiv Sainiks who work on the ground stand behind Uddhav Thackeray.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said if the Congress comes to power in Karnataka, dynastic politics will be at an all-time high in the state and it will be 'afflicted with riots'.
The Agniveer passing out parade was as much about family celebration as it was a military event. Alongside the pomp, pageantry and discipline of the parade were the personal stories of families, their struggles and how far they had come.
The Opposition party said that Prime Minister Modi congratulating Eshwarappa for not rebelling despite not being given a poll ticket "is unacceptable".
'The Maharashtra government is not being very clear; they are keeping quiet.'
A section of others raised objections as the news spread, leading to tension in the area. Those objecting, largely Marathi speaking, are opposed to the location where they want to install a statue of Maratha ruler Shivaji, after whom the circle is named.
Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister K S Eshwarappa, against whom police have booked a case for allegedly abetting the suicide of contractor Santosh Patil, on Friday submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Karnataka Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi, who is in the eye of a political storm for his statement on the origins of the word 'Hindu' and its "dirty meaning", on Wednesday withdrew the remark and expressed "regret" if it has hurt anyone's sentiments.
The Congress seems to be heading for the Karnataka polls so far on the strength of its local leadership and focusing on issues concerning the state, making corruption a central theme of its campaigning.
The Chief Minister has been under intense pressure for some time now, over expansion and rejig of the Cabinet not taking place, to make way for the fresh faces, ahead of Assembly elections by April-May next year.
Amid the simmering border dispute, Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai on Wednesday said if Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai does not stop making irresponsible statements, Maharashtra will have to rethink about water supply from its dams to the neighbouring state.
The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall over Karnataka and Kerala for the next few days.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will appear before a court in Gujarat's Surat city on Thursday when it is expected to deliver its verdict in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his 'Modi surname' remarks, party leaders said on Wednesday.
Eleven villages in Akkalkot tehsil of Maharashtra's Solapur district have asked the district administration to provide them basic facilities or grant them permission to merge with adjoining Karnataka.
The incident took place on Saturday, when the four people were allegedly propagating Christianity at a house in Kolar.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is visiting Karnataka, said he intended to shut all the madrasas (Muslim religious schools) in his state, as they were not needed in "New India".
'That the South and West regions are more women-friendly in terms of employment is not a surprise.'
Conveying good wishes to people of the state and all political parties for the New Year, he however wished that the Congress comes to power.
"We had a meeting with experts through video conference regarding the new year celebrations, keeping in mind the COVID-19 and Omicron related cases," Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters.
Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the incoming government in Karnataka would not only give its stamp of approval for the five pre-poll guarantees announced by the party in the first cabinet meeting itself but also pass an order to this effect immediately.
The cabinet decided to bring the religious minorities under the EWS category.
While in a statement issued earlier, the Railways had said that these trains will be fully non-air conditioned, on Wednesday it said that these will have both AC and non-AC classes and fully reserved coaches.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to form 50 states in the country after the 2024 elections. I came to know that he is mulling over it," Umesh Katti, who holds the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, told reporters in Belagavi.
Karnataka's legislator from Bharatiya Janata Party, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, has claimed that he was approached by some people offering him the state chief minister's position, in exchange for Rs 2,500 crore.
The 65-year-old passed away at around 8 pm at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences trauma centre which has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 facility, sources at the hospital said.
'New Delhi is in a perpetual dilemma. It can't do without Yediyurappa, but it doesn't want a powerful CM. It stokes the opponents within against him. The result is he has never settled down in office, even in the present tenure'
The Congress fielded former Governor Margaret Alva's son Nivedit Alva from the Kumta assembly seat.
'The Muslims in Karnataka are safe and secure. The state government belongs to everybody.'
According to information shared on social media, Sawant was washing his bike when a police team reached the spot and started beating him up for not wearing a mask during the lockdown. Taking a serious view of the 'ill-treatment' meted out to its commando, the CRPF had written a letter to the Karnataka police demanding an investigation into the matter.
The Karnataka Cabinet on Monday decided to rechristen 'Mumbai-Karnataka' region consisting of seven districts as 'Kittur Karnataka.'
For the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka, the following are the 20 seats to watch out for.
Rediff readers tell us how they are celebrating Ganeshotsav.
After five months of a rigorous training, the Agniveervayus passed out of the Airmen Training School, impressing the audience with the skills they had acquired in just 22 weeks of training at the IAF base.
