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.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-Secular legislators boycotted the governor's address to the joint session of the legislature.
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.
As many as 13 Congress and three Janata Dal-Secular MLAs had resigned from the Karnataka Assembly in 2019 thus bringing down the 14-month-old coalition government of the Congress and the JD-S led by H D Kumaraswamy.
The school authorities immediately alerted police, who reached the institutions concerned with the bomb disposal squads and anti-sabotage check teams, they said, while indicating the bomb threat could be a hoax.
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".
Here's how some of the heavyweights fared in the Karnataka elections.
The Opposition Congress on Saturday seemed to be on course to breach rival Bharatiya Janata Party's lone southern citadel Karnataka, inching towards the magic figure of 113 needed to form a government on its own.
In UP and Bengal, it is willing to sacrifice its interests to stop the BJP and would work towards ensuring the BJP did not win incremental seats in Odisha and Telangana.
Kumar Bangarappa and Madhu Bangarappa are pitted against each other in Soraba constituency in Shivamogga district, which was represented by their father from 1967 to 1994 till his election to the Lok Sabha.
There has been an absolute decline in voters aged between 20 and 39, compared with 2018, and there has been a huge increase in voters aged over 50.
'People of the state who bless me will give a befitting replay to the Congress.'
Uday K M, also known as 'Kadalur Uday Gowda, was welcomed into the party fold in the presence of state Congress president DK Shivakumar.
The party bagged 11 of the 25 seats, from 20 Local Authorities' constituencies in the state, for which the biennial election was held on December 10, and counting was taken up today, poll officials said.
The election was necessitated as the term of office of seven members expires on June 14.
Several activists of pro-Kannada organisations were also whisked away by the police at Town Hall, as they gathered there to stage a protest.
"I have been the chief minister twice with your blessings. I have decided that the 2023 assembly election will be my last fight. It is not for me to come to power or become the chief minister," he said.
Gone are those days when all the party workers used to blindly follow Gowda's orders. In recent times, a number of senior leaders have been threatening to leave the party or break it up, giving sleepless nights to Gowda and family.
Prakash, former state home minister, who has launched a banner of revolt against Gowda for certain 'unilateral' decisions adopted by him on party matters including toppling of the BJP-led coalition government, called the meeting to decide future course of action.
This marks the entry of the 8th member from the Gowda family into politics.
He said the state unit only sends the recommendation but does not take sides as to who should be given the ticket.
Rebel Janata Dal-Secular leader M P Prakash on Monday held consultations with party legislators supporting him to chalk out the strategy of the group, which is opposing the renewed ties with Bharatiya Janata Party on government formation in Karnataka.
The newly elected Congress legislators, who are staying at a resort on the city outskirts, also joined the protest.
"How can I continue in the ministry when the minorities are neglected?" asked Khan, becoming the first minister to strike a discordant note ever since the JD(S)-BJP ministry came to power in February last year.
As Karnataka gears up for D-Day, with most exit poll projections predicting a hung assembly while putting the Congress in the lead, the outcome will boil down to how the battle for some key constituencies play out.
JD-S to decide on action against Kumaraswamy and supporters
In a fresh salvo against Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy alleged that he and his family had secured "illegal gains" through donations of Rs 27.18 crore made to a trust run by the CM's son.
B S Yediyurappa, deputy chief minister designate of the new Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government to be sworn-in in Karnataka on February 3, Sunday said the government would formulate a Common Minimum Programme.
Mudigere's Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, M P Kumaraswamy, on Thursday announced his resignation from the party, after he was denied ticket to contest the Karnataka assembly polls, and blamed national General Secretary C T Ravi for not getting nominated.
Amid speculations of Operation Hasta' going on in Karnataka to woo Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to join the Congress, former BJP minister B C Patil and ex-MLA Narasimha Naik met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar during the birthday party of noted Kannada film actor Sudeep Sanjeev, who is popularly known as Sudeep.
The BJP leadership knows it can't boast of governance in the state as the Bommai government has little to show. So, the game plan is to project Modi, who will reiterate how important it is for a state to have the same party ruling in power at the Centre, observes Ramesh Menon.
Dr K S Shetty from Udupi has been closely following the political developments in Karnataka for the past three decades or more. A passionate political analyst he predicts in an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the Congress-Janata Dal-Secular alliance will oust the current Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.
With the Bihar government releasing the findings of its caste survey, pressure seems to be mounting on the Karnataka government, especially within the ruling Congress, to make the state's Socio-economic and Educational Census, popularly known as the 'caste census', public.
Amid the raging controversy regarding Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, the Vokkaliga chieftains who according to a section allegedly killed erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, a prominent seer of the community on Monday urged putting an end to the issue, citing lack of historical evidence in this regard.
Janata Dal-Secular president and former prime minister H D Dewa Gowda has dissolved the Kerala committee of the party led by veteran leader and former Member of Parliament M P Veerendrakumar.While Veerendrakumar alleged that Gowda has dissolved the state committee in accordance with the wishes of Kerala Communist Party of India-Marxist secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, Gowda claimed that he had never even met Vijayan.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mandya to inaugurate the 10-lane Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway, independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Friday extended her complete support to the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal for the candidature of Yadav and Jabbar, the All India Congress Committee said in a release.
"The Congress have gone and made promises in Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh that they never fulfilled," Rajeev Chandrasekhar claimed.
Vast experience in running the government and mass appeal across the state have favoured Siddaramaiah in the tightly contested race for Karnataka chief minister.
'There is a conscious move by the BJP to distance itself from the current state leadership.'
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