Two more JD(S) MLAs on Monday quit the party and resigned from assembly membership in Karnataka, dealing a severe blow to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda-led outfit which is struggling to keep its flock together since the May assembly elections.
Siddaramaiah's anti-urban bias, which he does not bother to hide, may become the Congress government's biggest weakness unless it is corrected.
The Janata Dal (S), which has three members in Lok Sabha, has not yet taken any decision on extending support to the trust vote to be sought by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Lok Sabha during special session on July 21 and 22, party president H D Deve Gowda said on Saturday.
The Congress is looking at Channapatna to take revenge on the JD-S which, it believes, has an underhand deal with the BJP to stop it from getting a majority.
Speaking to reporters after attending the MVA meeting at NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence 'Silver Oak' in Mumbai, Patil said the MVA -- comprising the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, the NCP, and the Congress -- will work out a seat-sharing formula ahead of the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra assembly elections, due in the second half of the next year.
Raut said that the victory of the Congress in Karnataka has opened a door for the party in the whole country and the election results show that dictatorship has been defeated.
Banners have come up in front of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar's residences in Bengaluru, erected by supporters, congratulating them for Congress win and projecting them as "next CM".
This is the second movie about Karnataka politics and its release will coincide with the Karnataka assembly elections, slated to be held in early 2008. Another movie which is set to hit the screen soon is Mukhyamantri I Love You, which, according to Janata Dal supremo H D Deve Gowda, attempts to ridicule his family.
While all political parties in Karnataka have entered into poll mode, the Janata Dal-Secular, a key player is yet to sort out plenty of problems with the rebels in the party getting more rebellious.
M P Prakash, the strongman of the JD-S, in an interview with rediff.com correspondent Vicky Nanjappa, bares his heart about the fate of Karnataka politics, the future of the JD-S and the influence of the Gowda clan on the entire political mess that Karnataka is in at present.
With there being no sign of any reconciliation between any of the political parties in Karnataka, the wait and watch game has begun all over again.
Kumaraswamy alleged that 25,000 pen drives were distributed in the entire state, and cited a report in a regional daily to support his claim.
In a veiled attack on Modi, Rahul said he has never come across a senior public representative who has constantly chosen silence in the face of untold violence against women.
'There cannot be an alliance with Congress that does not honour the coalition dharma'
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has equated the manifesto of his party, the Janata Dal-Secular, for the upcoming Karnataka assembly election to a Bhagwad Gita, Quran and the Bible.
'The wife will not only abuse her husband for giving her less money, but also abuse the government.' 'Look at the price of a cooking gas cylinder, it is Rs 1,200.'
After Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra began criss-crossing the Hindi heartland, BJP leaders have revived their attacks on 'dynasty politics' and 'family rule' in the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Suspected Janata Dal-Secular supporters attacked the residence of a key aide of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa after he made allegations of land-grabbing against the former prime minister and their party chief H D Deve Gowda
Former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday began an indefinite fast in Bengaluru pressing for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's charge that his family members amassed illegal wealth to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore.
An invitation will also be sent to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
Advani and Dr Joshi might not attend the consecration ceremony due to health and age-related reasons. Advani is 96 and Dr Joshi will turn 90 next month.
"I am firm on starting my agitation demanding CBI probe into the so-called 53-page charge sheet published by BJP against the Deve Gowda family. I set a one-week deadline to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to respond to my demand for ordering a probe. But the chief minister has surrendered to silence," he said.
Revenue Minister M P Prakash was appointed Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister in place of Janata Dal (Secular) rebel Siddaramaiah on Saturday.
'The Karnataka crisis clearly showed the BJP in the grip of regional satraps, for whom the national leadership is of little consequence.'
Priyanka Gandhi asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain silent on the matter.
'Those betting against PSUs will likely be punished in this upswing.'
In the public eye, it seemed as though leaders were talking to each other in person or through the media. In reality, leaders refused to even see eye-to-eye and utilized the services of a mediator to do all the talking. What happened behind the scenes? How did the allies mend the fences? Rediff.com spoke to the official mediators of the JDS and the BJP to find out.
Beleaguered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's political credibility will be tested by the outcome of the three by-elections. And cries that he must resign will become shriller if the Congress loses them.
Gowda has hinted that there might be polls held soon in the state.
He parried the question that chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has already gone on record that he would not step down from his office.
The petition filed by Yeddyurappa said that on October one, Kumaraswamy son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda alleged that a Rs 50 crore kickback was involved in awarding the contract for construction of residential quarters for economically-weaker sections in Ejipura in Bangalore to a private construction company Maverick Holdings.
What some of our political leaders were up to on Monday.
Chief Electoral Officer M N Vidyashankar said on Sunday an average of 66 per cent polling was registered in the first phase of elections in the segments spread over 11 districts. This is higher than the 65.07 per cent average polled in the 224 assembly segments in 2004 polls.
On being branded as a party of Lingayats, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said in North Karnataka, other parties were trying to give his party this image. "However, this is untrue and the distribution of tickets, especially in Bangalore, will prove that wrong. Most of our candidates are from the Vokkaliga and Reddy community and hence branding the BJP as a party of Lingayats is not correct," he added.
Despite being arch detractors on the home turf of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Dara Singh Chauhan of the Bahujan Samaj Party will have to sit next to each other in the first row in the Lok Sabha.
A Special Court in Bengaluru on Wednesday ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case.
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.
In a new twist to the political developments in Karnataka, Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Deve Gowda on Saturday suspended Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy
Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa as CM and Deputy CM of Karnataka.
