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.
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.
"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.
'Leave aside the negative fallouts of phraseology like 'urban Naxals' and 'terrorists', both the BJP and the Congress have to re-discover themselves in the context of the 2024 election results, including those of the upcoming ones for Maharashtra and Jharkhand,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Several pollsters have predicted that the Congress may have an edge in Karnataka, which is BJP's southern citadel, in a hung assembly with a couple of them even projecting that the grand old party may get a majority on its own.
With numbers on its side -- the ruling NDA has about half the votes of the electoral college -- and the possible support of fence-sitters like the BJD, the AIADMK and the YSRCP, the NDA candidate will likely sail through the contest.
'The Karnataka crisis clearly showed the BJP in the grip of regional satraps, for whom the national leadership is of little consequence.'
The top guns of all the major political parties were on a campaign blitz across the state in the past few days, even as the ruling BJP has been striving to break the 38-year-old pattern of alternating governments and retain its southern citadel.
'There is no peace in the Kashmir Valley.'
While the ruling BJP, riding on the Modi juggernaut, wants to break the 38-year jinx and retain its southern citadel, the Congress is seeking to wrest power to give the party much-needed elbow room and momentum to position itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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.
He parried the question that chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has already gone on record that he would not step down from his office.
Gowda has hinted that there might be polls held soon in the state.
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.
India is mushrooming with Deve Gowda wannabes because being a former prime minister is better than being a former chief minister, says Shekhar Gupta.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has asserted there were no lapses on the part of the government in handling cases relating to the alleged sexual abuse of women by Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and that the Special Investigation Team was probing them from all angles.
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.
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.
The CPI-M is upbeat in its quest to form a Third Front and struck a pre-poll alliance with the BJD in Orissa within a day after the ruling state party snapped ties with longtime ally BJP.
Sources said Modi also called up various leaders, including Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham's M K Stalin and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal.
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
Will power be transferred or will the people have to go to polls is the million dollar question? It all depends on some of the key players who can either make or break the government in Karnataka.
Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa as CM and Deputy CM of Karnataka.
In a sudden development, Janata Dal-Secular has suspended its negotiations with the Bharatiya Janata Party on the transfer of power in Karnataka.
The JDS group, which was opposed to forcing a snap poll on the people of the state in the event of its coming out of the government, is likely to rope in Bharatiya Janata Party support to form an alternative government.
The Rajya Sabha member was not keeping well for the past few days and was admitted to a private hospital in Lucknow, where he died around 7 pm.
Modi also noted that through very emotional voiceovers people are conveying a spirit of pride that the nation is getting a new Parliament which will keep working to fulfill people's aspirations with more vigour.
In a swift damage control exercise, Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh on Thursday said he would persuade Infosys Chairman N R Narayana Murthy to withdraw his resignation as the Bangalore International Airport Ltd chairman.
If there was one man who was responsible for pivotal role that the Left parties played on the national stage from 1989 to 2008, it was Harkishen Singh Surjeet, who passed into the ages on August 1. He was 92.
If the anti-Congress trend continues from 2004, Congressmen will lay the blame at the prime minister's economic reforms.
A day after he defied the party whip and voted in favour of the United Progressive Alliance government's confidence motion, Janata Dal-Secular MP Shivanna was on Wednesday expelled from the party. JD-S secretary general Danish Ali told PTI that steps have been initiated to disqualify him from the Lok Sabha and a letter was being sent to the speaker in this regard.
The UP chief minister has said that all MPs misuse their area development funds.
'What do Congressmen want, five assured months in office before the general election is called or the possibility of being re-elected for another five-year term?'
The proposed toy train, with two coaches, will chug around the hilly terrain to lure more tourists coming to the state.
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