There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
Addressing election rallies in the district headquarters towns of Shivamogga and Raichur, Gandhi alleged that the prime minister was in the know about the sex scandal and he could have got Prajwal arrested within seconds but allowed him to flee the country.
As Karnataka draws closer to elections, the three major political parties are finalizing the strategy to be adopted in the forthcoming elections.
In the midst of opposition protests in Karnataka over the illegal mining issue, Governor H R Bharadwaj on Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil.
The two-day conclave of the Karnataka Janata Dal-Secular that concluded on Tuesday decided against exploring possibilities of forming another government and galvanised the party for mid-term polls.The top leadership has been trying since Monday to placate its agitated MLAs, who have been insisting that efforts be made towards installing a government either with its estranged partner BJP or with the Congress.
The Congress in north Karnataka has been given a three month ultimatum to regain its past glory by All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who met with youth Congress party workers at Hubli on Wednesday. Rahul sought to know why the party's performance has been dismal in north Karnataka. He urged party workers to pull up their socks and work extensively towards bettering the party.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said, he is not giving priority to such things and was concentrating on strengthening the party.
Party chief H D Kumaraswamy told media persons, "If my party does not get majority, we will not form an alliance with anyone. I would rather sit in opposition than being a part of a coalition government."
The Bharatiya Janata Party has plenty to smile about, after it swept the elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or the Bengaluru Municipal Corporation which had remained dissolved for three years.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and colleague Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the Yediyurappa government has no moral right to continue in office any more.
'They know the people of Karnataka will not accept it.'
Janata Dal-Secular chief HD Kumaraswamy alleged "horse-trading" in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha elections claiming that Congress leader Siddaramaiah was pressurising JD-S MLAs to not vote for their own party but that of the candidate of the grand old party.
In a last-ditch bid to save the coalition government in Karnataka, Congress Friday offered Janata Dal-Secular the "Maharashtra model" power-sharing formula, just before Chief Minister Dharam Singh was to seek a vote of confidence.
With opinion polls predicting a hung assembly in Karnataka and the possibility that the JD-S could be the 'king maker' after the polls, H D Deve Gowda stays mum about his party's post-election strategy.
While Wadiyar, scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family, is making his political debut from the Mysore Lok Sabha segment, Lakshmana is state Congress spokesperson and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's confidant.
A day after the Congress ruled out forming a coalition government with it in Karnataka, the Janata Dal-Secular on Thursday said that it will go to the people to seek a fresh mandate. "The BJP has already announced that it will face elections. The Congress has pulled the curtain down on government formation. We are the only third party left in the state. We should keep these developments in mind and go ahead to strengthen and prepare the party for elections," Gowda said.
Battling allegations of corruption and nepotism, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday said he would soon release "documentary evidence" on scams during the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular regimes in the state.
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.
Gowda denied BJP had any role in the resignations when asked if it was part of "Operation Kamala".
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).
An expansion of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party Council of Ministers in Karnataka will take place within a fortnight, state Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said Tuesday.
Siddaramaiah even said that he would retire from politics if even one instance is presented with proof that he had made money by transferring officials.
Whether I have become a political untouchable now or not, will be decided by the people of Karnataka, says JD-S supremo H D Deve Gowda.
Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa as CM and Deputy CM of Karnataka.
The current situation in Karnataka is such that if the controversial Reddy brothers -- state ministers and Bellary's mining tycoons -- are ousted, everyone has something to gain, believes Vicky Nanjappa.
"JD-S will not transfer power to BJP. See what all will happen on October 3," Singh, a former chief minister, told reporters in Bangalore on Thursday.
BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who had stepped down as minister on March 3 following allegations of sexual harassment against him, said on Tuesday that the videos purportedly showing him with a woman were fake and vowed to send the 'conspirators' behind bars.
JD-S leader Siddharamaiah will be the deputy CM.
Jagadish and Anukumar were taken into custody from the district headquarters town of Chitradurga by a team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dinakar.
Congress has adopted a wait-and-watch mode in Karnataka in spite of reports suggesting that it might extend outside support to the JDS if the latter severed links with the BJP. The final decision will be taken by Sonia Gandhi when she comes back.
Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash passed away at a private hospital in Bangalore on Wednesday after a pro longed battle with cancer.
They met at Modi's residence in New Delhi a day after the NDA won a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha election, paving the way for him to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962.
What does election data say about the electoral support the competing parties in Karnataka have? Abhishek Waghmare find out.
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
'Siddaramaiah was openly taking on the BJP's communal agenda, which very few non-BJP politicians do.'
While the Bharatiya Janata Party sits in dharna, the Congress plans to go ahead with a rally to expose the Janata Dal-Secular and BJP, who they claim, have entered into an unholy alliance.
The joint session of the assembly will start from Februay 24.
Seemingly expressing his displeasure against ministers demanding three more deputy chief minister posts in Karnataka, state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the party would respond to them appropriately.
Eighteen ministers inducted were of cabinet rank, nine each from the Congress and JD(S). Two JD (S) members joined as ministers of state.\n
The Opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular members continued their protest in the Karnataka legislative assembly for the third straight night demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged illegal mining scam.
