The term of the 224-member Karnataka assembly ends on May 24.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his vote theft allegations and criticized the Election Commission for demanding an affidavit to support his claims. He alleged collusion between the EC and BJP to steal the Lok Sabha election and called for investigation into election irregularities.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said his party will soon come out with a 'hydrogen bomb' of revelations about 'vote chori' and after that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to show his face to the country.
'I disagree with much of Modi's politics, but it cannot be denied that in these years in office, he has carved more than a niche for himself in history,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The BJP may be in the Opposition in many states, but nowhere is it as divided as it is in Karnataka, points out Aditi Phadnis.
A special court in Bengaluru has sentenced Congress MLA Sateesh Krishna Sail to seven years imprisonment and imposed hefty fines for theft and illegal export of seized iron ore from Belekeri port during 2009-10.
Speaking to reporters later, Bommai said: "We respectfully accept the decision of the people. I take the responsibility of the defeat."
Pawar has summoned a meeting of party leaders in Mumbai on Saturday to finalise its plans for the assembly elections in Karnataka scheduled for May 10.
Sharad Pawar claimed that two individuals had met him in New Delhi before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls and 'guaranteed' the Opposition's victory in 160 of 288 constituencies.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar met senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, fueling speculation about a leadership change in the state. The meeting occurs amid reports of Shivakumar pressing for the chief minister's post.
Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra questions the Congress government's decision to exclude Deepa Bhasthi, co-winner of the International Booker Prize, from inaugurating the Mysuru Dasara 2025.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Senior BJP leader B Sriramulu has invited K N Rajanna, recently sacked as minister from the Congress government, to join the party. This comes as a state minister and some ruling party legislators met with Rajanna, signaling potential political shifts in Karnataka.
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.
"We just looked at one constituency and we found this. I am absolutely convinced that constituency after constituency this is the drama that is taking place. Thousands and thousands of new voters, how old are they? -- 45, 50, 60, 65, thousands and thousands of them in one constituency. This is one thing, voter deletion, voter addition, new voters who are way above 18 (is going on)... so we have caught them," he said.
A day after the Congress ruled out forming a coalition government with it in Karnataka, the Janata Dal-Secular on Thursday said that it will go to the people to seek a fresh mandate. "The BJP has already announced that it will face elections. The Congress has pulled the curtain down on government formation. We are the only third party left in the state. We should keep these developments in mind and go ahead to strengthen and prepare the party for elections," Gowda said.
'It must become faceless, just as the entire direct tax assessment system has already become fully online, without any human intervention in the normal course,' recommends A K Bhattacharya.
The Congress' victory in the Karnataka assembly polls is likely to help the party get its candidates elected in three of the four Rajya Sabha seats from the state falling vacant next year.
Some of them also carried pictures of Lord Hanuman as party workers and leaders assembled at Indira Bhawan, the state Congress office, and distributed sweets, threw gulal powder and burst firecrackers.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi on Wednesday said the guarantee schemes need to be reviewed so that only the economically weaker sections, and not the rich, benefit from them, sparking a debate on the ambitious programmes launched by the Congress government.
The Election Commission has strongly criticized Rahul Gandhi's allegations of election cheating in a Karnataka constituency, calling them baseless and threatening.
The complainant-witness, a former sanitation worker, has claimed that he worked in Dharmasthala between 1995 and 2014, and that he was forced to bury a number of bodies, including those of women and minors, in Dharmasthala.
Residents of a village in Kapu assembly segment of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency have decided to boycott the upcoming election, in protest against the poor civic amenities there.
In a major crackdown, police arrested 39 people, including local cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, in connection with the violence during the 'I love Muhammad' campaign after Friday prayers in Bareilly, while authorities suspended internet service in the district for 48 hours beginning Saturday.
The window to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors on draft electoral rolls opened on August 1.
A day after news emerged that Foxconn Technology Group was "forced" by Beijing to send back its Chinese engineers and technicians from its Tamil Nadu plant, sources indicate that the global electronics giant has already drawn up an alternative plan to rescue its India iPhone 17 production by bringing in experts from mainly Taiwan and the US.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleges that the Election Commission is colluding with the BJP to manipulate elections, citing data analysis from a Karnataka constituency. He claims evidence of 'vote chori' and demands transparency from the EC.
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.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensified his attack on the Election Commission, accusing them of 'vote chori' and warning of action if the INDIA bloc forms the government. He alleged a 'new special package' for Bihar, named SIR (Special Intensive Revision), is a 'new form of vote theft'.
The Karnataka government has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those officials who change the land mutation records and serve eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act.
The Centre told the Supreme Court that governors are not indefinitely sitting on bills passed by state legislatures, and that barring a few exceptions, most have acted in a way which the apex court would have perhaps desired. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that a Governor is "not a rubber stamp" and has a duty to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.
The CMs with lowest assets are West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with assets worth over Rs 15.38 lakh, Omar Abdullah, CM of Jammu and Kashmir, with assets worth over Rs 55.24 lakh, and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who has assets worth Rs 1.18 crore.
While ticket aspirants, particularly in the Congress, are waiting with bated breath for announcement of the list for the May five Assembly polls, one thing appears certain at this stage itself -- that the elections would not be short on the glamour quotient.
Prominent Vokkaliga pontiff of Adi Chunchanagiri Nirmalananda Natha Swamiji on Sunday appealed to the Congress leadership to appoint Karnataka party unit president D K Shivakumar as the next chief minister of the state.
In Tamil Nadu a steamed, spicy delicacy, looking like a modak, is made for Vinayak Chaturthi.
The Congress party has launched a web portal where people can register to demand accountability from the Election Commission over alleged vote rigging, following Rahul Gandhi's claims of 'vote chori'.
Amid Congress leaders in Karnataka openly discussing possible change of Chief Minister in the state, All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said it is up to the party high command to decide on such matters and that one should not create any unnecessary problem.
'But I know why he did it.' 'He was being heckled by BJP members who were mocking the Congress.' 'In that context, he quoted the song to tell them: "We know your anthem, we know your ideology, we know how divisive you are".' 'It was not an endorsement.'
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.
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