With the party heading towards a smiple majority in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said it would be a "gross constitutional impropriety" if it is not invited to form the next government in the southern state. Party spokesman Ravi Shanker Prasad said as trends continued to pour in favour of BJP with the saffron party crossing the 100 mark in the 224- member assembly.
In more trouble to Karnataka Janata Dal-Secular chief H D Kumaraswamy, the Lokayukta special court on Monday ordered an investigation into a private complaint filed against him alleging illegalities in denotification of government land in 2007 when he was the chief minister.
He also announced appointment of another senior leader D Manjunath as chairman of the party's Parliamentary Board and Meerajuddin Patel as chairman of the Political Affairs Committee.
While Congress alleged that the ban on arrack by the erstwhile JD - S-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition was responsible for it, the JD-S demanded a probe by the CBI. Thirty five people lost their lives in Bangalore and Kolar on Sunday after drinking poisonous hooch. "I am charging B S Yeddyurappa (BJP leader), the BJP, JD-S.....you are directly responsible for this," Congress leader Janardhana Poojary said.
A survey conducted by the Karnataka Election Watch, a non-governmental organisation, states that the Bharatiya Janata Party has the highest number of candidates with a criminal background. The BJP tops the list with 13 while the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular come second and third with 9 and 8 candidates respectively.
Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday indirectly blamed Governor H R Bhardwaj for delay in the appointment of Lokayukta asserting that the government has followed precedents and the ball was in his court.
Even as Karnataka continues to release water to Tamil Nadu as per the directive of the Cauvery River Waters Authority, all the members of Legislative Assembly from the Janata Dal-Secular have tendered their resignations against this move by the Karnataka government.
The Commissioner of Public Instructions has issued a circular making the mandatory singing of the first two stanzas of the national song at 11 am on September seven.
In a relief for former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, the high court has quashed proceedings initiated against him in connection with two cases. The cases against Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita, also a Janata Dal -Secular member of Legislative Assembly, relate to renewal of mining lease to the Jantakal Mining Firm in violation of norms and alleged irregularities in allotment of sites to Vishwabharathi Housing Cooperative Society.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said the BJP was demanding early elections because development work in the state has been affected and various welfare schemes have come to a halt.
Stepping up its attack on the alleged land scandals, opposition Janata Dal - Secular on Monday accused Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa of denotifying some land in Bengaluru in violation of court rulings and levelled bribery charges against him. Former chief minister and state JD-S president H D Kumaraswamy alleged that Yeddyurappa had denotified more than five acres acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority for a layout at Nagarbhavi.
As Karnataka draws closer to elections, the three major political parties are finalizing the strategy to be adopted in the forthcoming elections.
'The Muslims in Karnataka are safe and secure. The state government belongs to everybody.'
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda led Janata Dal-Secular, which had hoped to play the role of a kingmaker in Karnataka, on Wednesday said it would sit in the opposition.
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."
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.
The BJP on Wednesday also named its in-charges for assembly bypolls to four seats in Tripura.
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.
Vishsveshwara Theertha Swami of the Pejawar mutt from the religious Udupi town in coastal Karnataka is trying to broker peace between the Janata Dal-Secular and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka so that the two parties could get together and form the government.
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 BJP formally withdrew support from the Karnataka government on Sunday, thus reducing the Janata Dal-Secular government, led by Kumaraswamy, to a minority. The BJP met Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur at Raj Bhavan on Sunday to inform him about its decision to withdraw support. The BJP leaders also urged the governor to impose President's rule. Kumaraswamy said that he is ready to face the trust vote on October 18 and added that he is confident of winning.
The move came following the hour-long meeting of the party in Bangalore, necessitated by the Janata Dal-Secular's refusal to hand over power as promised on October 3.
In the midst of opposition protests in Karnataka over the illegal mining issue, Governor H R Bharadwaj on Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil.
The Karnataka state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to be more assertive in their approach to put to an end the free run of their coalition partner the Janata Dal-Secular.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-Secular legislators boycotted the governor's address to the joint session of the legislature.
Gowda has hinted that there might be polls held soon in the state.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has approved the proposal for the candidature of Yadav and Jabbar, the All India Congress Committee said in a release.
Continuing his tirade against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Janata Dal-Secular state unit President H D Kumaraswamy on Monday dubbed him the "most corrupt chief minister" of Karnataka.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
Congress has criticised Janata Dal Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, after the former revealed that his father was offered a bribe for defence deals. Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary questioned why the statement by Kumaraswamy was being aired in the media after over a decade.
Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday said the party's second list of candidates for the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, including for the contentious Hassan seat, will be finalised on April 7.
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.
Close to half of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats are bracing for multi-cornered fight this time, making the contest way more interesting and intense than it was in the 2019 elections.
Senior politician Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the chairman of Karnataka legislative council and MLC, on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP presented a surplus, farmer friendly budget for Rs 18.85 crore for the year 2008-09. Emphasis was also given to Bengaluru city with Rs 36,000 crore being allocated for infrastructure development. In his budget speech, Yeddyurappa said that the main intention was to improve the image of Bengaluru and put it on the global map. For this to take place the development of infrastructure was the key.
The ruling Congress posted a video along with a statement on social media platform X, criticising the Janata Dal-Secular leader and son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
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.
A Janata Dal-Secular corporator was shot dead by unidentified persons at Banashankari area of Bengaluru on Sunday, the police said.
