Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
If the Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu -- dating back to 1892 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency under the British Raj and the princely Mysore state -- has exploded again into a war, the discord between Karnataka and Goa over dividing the water of the Mahadayi river simmers under the surface.
Angry BJP workers flung chairs and other furniture and raised slogans against party president Amit Shah and even tried to stop the cars of Vijayendra and other leaders as they were leaving.
Under attack from the opposition over his luxurious watch, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah on Thursday said he would declare it as a state asset and hand it over to the government.
He accused the BJP of creating friction between communities and 'igniting' fire and ramped up his attack on the PM.
The Congress has convened a CLP meeting on Friday ahead of budget presentation and warned its MLAs that absence would invite action under the Anti-Defection Law.
He, however, reiterated his allegation that the BJP was trying to lure MLAs of the ruling combine.
Failure to deliver on governance, corruption allegations, preoccupation with Lok Sabha and gram panchayat polls and factionalism have weakened Siddaramaiah's government in Karnataka. This may well hand the BJP a chance to make a comeback in the state, says Raghu Krishnan.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu and Chitradurga, coastal regions among others, where local communities are opposed to the celebrations.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's celebrations on amma's return are peppered with possibilities, probabilities and problems of one kind or the other, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Karnataka, by reposing its faith in BSY, remains a Hindutva stronghold, reports R Rajagopalan.
'As Karunanidhi and Ramadoss flagged the law and order issue, Subramanian Swamy said Home Minister Rajnath Singh should send Chief Minister O Panneerselvam a directive under Article 246 of the Constitution. Swamy also dangled the fear of Article 356 over the state government.'
'Under Modi Ji's 'Jan Dhan Loot Yojana', another scam!' he tweeted.
A day after state Home Minister KJ George sparked a controversy by blaming the media for tarnishing Bengaluru's image by focussing on rape stories for TRPs, the former state Bharatiya Janata Party president K S Eshwarappa attacked his political opponents.
'For short-term gain, the BJP makes extraordinary promises, they take extraordinary decisions, but in the long term it is going to impact both them and the country.'
The chief minister visited several villages in Khairagarh tehsil, the worst affected in the dust storm that left a trail of death and destruction, disrupting power lines, uprooting trees and claiming the lives of over 40 people in Agra alone.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sharpening the attack against Congress and defending the government, three state ministers dubbed the opposition party leaders as 'experts' in creating fake news, as they challenged them to provide evidence or name those involved in the scam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation, and assured all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation.
such alerts are issued before most elections, but they should be taken seriously this time as the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls promises to be a bitter and divisive one, says Vicky Nanjappa
'The strange thing about the Karnataka election is that the BJP looks more like the Congress of the past and vice versa.' 'Siddaramaiah has been able to out think the BJP almost every single day on every single issue.'
'Hindu voters in coastal Karnataka lean more towards Hindutva than Hinduism which explains why the Siddaramaiah government's perception as anti-Hindu worked wonders for the BJP in coastal Karnataka.'
Well-known Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar died in Bangalore on Friday, October 29, following a heart attack, hospital sources said.
The magic figure for simple majority was 105, equivalent to the strength of the BJP, which also commanded the support of an Independent.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah says it is exclusive privilege of Wadiyar family and the government would not like to interfere with it
States are apprehensive of losing their rights to raise revenue during emergencies.
Karnataka Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Wednesday resigned from the state cabinet, following allegations of sexual harassment against him.
The minister's statement in Chitradurga on Wednesday came in response to the opposition Congress' charge of the government failing to tackle coronavirus spread, but he later claimed his remarks were 'misinterpreted' by a section of the media.
From corruption to communalism, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Rs 70 lakh Hublot watch to United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, the electoral potboiler had it all.
The crisis staring at the 13-month old government after over a dozen MLAs of the ruling combine quit on Saturday deepened with two Ministers and Independent MLAs -- H Nagesh and R Shankar -- resigning from the ministry and withdrawing their support to the coalition.
The MLAs -- Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumtalli, Umesh Jadhav, and Nagendra -- did not ascribe any reason for not attending the opening day's session.
The chief minister said any distortion of historical facts will not be tolerated.
Even if they score administratively, state governments ruled by the party suffer from an inability to communicate positively, say observers.
'Destabilising the Yediyurappa government is not a cakewalk.' 'If he is destabilised, then the BJP will have problems in Karnataka.'
'Deep down, it betrays a transactional view of politics. That, to get, the voter must give,' argues Krishna Prasad.
In a counter offensive after 13 MLAs resigned on Saturday dealing a blow to the 13-month-old government, a delegation of Congress leaders met Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar and submitted the petition seeking, under the anti-defection law, disqualification of the rebel legislators in line with the decision taken at a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party on Tuesday.
Police said no untoward incident has been reported in Mangaluru so far. The Internet and mobile data services have been restored. However, the police FIR names the 2 deceased.
A woman was confirmed dead and another injured in an explosion triggered by an Improvised Explosive Device on Sunday night in front of a popular restaurant on a busy road in the heart of Bengaluru.
Karunanidhi, 94, died at the Kauvery hospital on Tuesday following prolonged illness.
The court struck down the portion of the Speaker's order by which the legislators were disqualified till the end of the 15th Karnataka assembly.
