All candidates hoping for a Janata Dal-Secular ticket to contest the elections in Karnataka will now have to pass an examination carried out by none other than party chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.
It is possible to be blind to this and pretend to carry on as if nothing has happened but that will not change the reality, asserts Aakar Patel.
Sixty-eight-year old Dharam Singh would be the chief minister.
'Blanket protection to MLAs, who are driven not by ideology but by far baser concerns, is unheard-of'
Deve Gowda is particularly fond of his grandson and has always considered him as the successor to their political legacy. When Nikhil's involvement in the brawl was grabbing headlines, Gowda senior left not stone unturned to defend him. He was also upset about the manner in which the media went hammer and tongs against his grandson.
Making it clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party is no mood to buckle under pressure from the Janata Dal-Secular, a senior BJP leader made it clear that he will not hold talks with JD-S supremo H D Deve Gowda.
The Janata Dal (Secular) has offered to join the National Democratic Alliance, provided the BJP allows H D Kumaraswamy continue as Karnataka chief minister for the next 20 months.
"You are made to read lies, so please don't read it," BJP members said.
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.
Ex-prime minister H D Deve Gowda's Janata Dal-Secular likely to play the kingmaker if no party gets the majority.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said if the Congress comes to power in Karnataka, dynastic politics will be at an all-time high in the state and it will be 'afflicted with riots'.
'The Muslims in Karnataka are safe and secure. The state government belongs to everybody.'
Minor explosions occurred in the office buildings of the Janata Dal Secular and Congress parties in Bangalore on Friday evening, police said on Saturday. \n
The BJP is focusing determinedly on the seats it lost in 2019, with the hope of winning these either independently or with the aid of its allies.
Terming his ouster by JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda as an "act of vendetta and undemocractic," sacked Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Saturday, categorically ruled out joining any party, including the Congress.
'My party has taken the decision to vote against the motion of no-confidence and it remains unchanged. The nuclear deal is not the reflection of the nation's mood. It does not represent the people's wish,' he said.
The Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal MPs, including his daughter Misa Bharti and Manoj Jha, also staged a protest at Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside the Parliament complex and contended that despite being the chief opposition party in Bihar and the single largest party in the Assembly, it was not invited.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
Former leader of the Janata Dal-Secular M P Prakash will officially be a Congressman on February 27. He will be formally inducted into the party at a Youth Congress rally to be held in Bangalore, which will be presided over by Rahul Gandhi.
With Janata Dal-Secular state president H D Kumaraswamy repeatedly attacking him and his son Yathindra, a former Congress MLA, accusing them of a 'cash for transfer' racket, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said he will retire from politics, if proved that he has taken money, even in a single transfer case of government officials.
The Kollegal MLA said he will not attend the floor test on the direction of party supremo Mayawati.
Gowda said the campaign will be held in three phases and he will be participate in all three. He also said that a national executive committee meeting of the party will be held in February to take stock of the developments.
It is speculated that Scindia, known to be very close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, met the legislators in a bid to feel their pulses in the wake of developments in Karnataka and Goa.
Crisis gripped an embattled Janata Dal-Secular in Karnataka on Wednesday in the wake of a section of its partymen opening parleys with Congress to revive coalition ties for forming a government to avoid a snap poll and the top brass expressing dissent over the move.
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.
Party stalwarts like Dharam Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge, however, seem to have no problem with the Congress teaming up with the JD-S, as they feel that their main efforts should be directed towards preventing the BJP from coming to power.
The Janata Dal Secular convention to discuss the ongoing power tussle in Karnataka started in Bangalore on Thursday. The main speakers are former PM and JD-S supremo H D Deve Gowda, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Home minister Prakash.
Leaders of 13 Opposition parties Sunday urged the Centre to launch a free mass vaccination drive across the country in view of the unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases.
Amid protests and anger in some quarters against observing 'Hindi Diwas', Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday his government is bringing in a legislation to make Kannada "mandatory" in the state.
He said the cabinet expansion exercise may not take a week's time and a direction from the leadership was likely by Monday.
The launch of a new party by former Karnataka minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy has spiced up the poll scene in parts of state.
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the two aspiring CMs.
"I will personally on Friday, May 31 at 10 am will come before the SIT and will cooperate with the investigation and will respond to it (charges). I have faith in court and I am confident I will come out of false cases through court," Pajwal said in a video statement aired on Kannada TV channel Asianet Suvarna News.
The leader, who has been sulking for some time now due to repeated denial of election tickets, said he would convene a meeting of his supporters next month to announce his decision on whether or not he will stay with the Congress.
'I have faith in the party high command. I have certain principles. I can also take about 50 legislators and do the shouting, but for me the discipline of the party is important. If people like us don't follow things, there won't be any discipline in the party. I have said that if the high command gives me the responsibility, I will take it up. I have not said I won't'
Even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was defeated in the Karnataka assembly elections, the party retained its traditional stronghold in the coastal region by securing victories in 11 of the 13 constituencies in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
'Entire process of meeting individual legislators of Congress party has been completed with great bohemia.'
As the Opposition held its first meeting on the Presidential polls and names of Farooq Abdullah and Gopalkrishna Gandhi also cropped up, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party reached out to several parties across the political spectrum to build a consensus choice with senior party leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaking to Sharad Pawar, Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Naveen Patnaik (Biju Janata Dal).
Ali said the JD-S did not have a large organisational structure in Uttar Pradesh, which sends most lawmakers to the Parliament.
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