The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states, partial poll results showed Tuesday, forcing the party to rely on allies to form the government after a bitter and divisive election that was projected as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.
The Congress on Sunday took a strong exception to the exclusion of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the Karnataka government's newspaper advertisement on freedom fighters and termed the Bharatiya Janata Party action 'pathetic'.
Bommai on Saturday made it clear that he is not travelling to any foreign country and that there is no question of any new chief minister in Karnataka.
It will be a litmus test for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka when it battles the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) in the by-poll to the eight constituencies in Karnataka on Saturday.
"Crores of rupees were approved for temples and he (Amit Shah) says the steering is in my hand. If the steering is in my hand, then why do you feel the pain?," he said.
Police have made tight security arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony. Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and the party's senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu will be present
The remarks by Sibal, a noted advocate, came after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight others were inducted into the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
D V Sadananda Gowda who replaced B S Yeddyurappa as the chief Minister of Karnataka won the elections to the Karnataka legislative assembly on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference, Pawar said the trends of the assembly polls (in five states set to be held in November) suggest the situation is favourable for the opposition, but added he had no authentic information to comment on whether there would be a change (in government) at the national level.
In continuing desertions from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in poll-bound Karnataka, three more Members of Legislative Assembly on Thursday quit the party, apparently to join other parties before the assembly elections in May.
Amid simmering tension in Mandya over the removal of Hanuman flag from a 108 feet tall flagpost, the Keragodu village Panchayat Development Officer has been suspended.
The President's rule was imposed in the past -- Thrice when the Congress was in power in the state and once when erstwhile Janata Party was ruling the state.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, the little-known Hyderabad-based firm that in recent years won the prestigious Zojila tunnel deal among other projects, forayed into city gas and acquired a media group, was the second largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
Some of the Congress's new-found enthusiasm for hitting the streets will show its result in the Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka elections. That is when we will know if the Congress will go to the regional parties or the parties will come to the Congress.
The state contributes 30-plus MPs -- a fatal number for the Congress to lose at the Centre, says Aditi Phadnis
Denials poured in on change in the leadership in Karnataka, amid buzz over such a move by the Bharatiya Janata Party high command ahead of the assembly polls next year, as Union Minister Amit Shah was on a day-long visit to take part in various events in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The Karnataka government is divided over filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of former Tamil Nadu chief minister. N Sathiya Moorthy analyses the possibilities
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday dropped the plans to have an eight-hour roadshow by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru on Saturday following concerns expressed by Bengalureans over difficulties that they will face with such a day-long programme.
"A new era of development will start from now onwards," said BJP's Karnataka president B S Yeddyurappa soon after the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government lost the confidence vote.
Siddaramaiah said his main task was to bring the Congress back to power in the state.
A meeting of the Congress legislature party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and the next chief minister of Karnataka.
Political pundits and pre-poll surveys may have predicted a straight victory for the Congress in the forthcoming Karnataka election, but an expert of a different kind holds out a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered Bharatiya Janata Party.
There appears to be no solution in sight to the ongoing crisis in the Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party.
All the 13 legislators, who resigned from the Karnataka assembly membership on Tuesday, will also give up their primary membership to the Bharatiya Janatha Party.
Several stalled developmental projects and those waiting Centre's clearances are likely to come up for discussion at the meeting, during which the chief minister is likely to urge the Union ministers and MPs from the state to use their good offices for intervention of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India on the Cauvery issue.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said like other states, the BJP started the game of using money power, power of the government and muscle power to destabilise the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh but has failed.
In the much expected exercise that takes the state ministry's strength to the maximum permissible limit of 34, Kumaraswamy inducted three ministers from his party Janata Dal (Secular) and two from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In spite of the JD (S) flip-flopping on the issue of power transfer in Karnataka, its ally Bhartiya Janata Party is hopeful that the JD-S will keep its side of the bargain, party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
While addressing a Veerashaiva-Lingayat meeting in Shivamogga, Eshwarappa said, "We do not want even a single Muslim vote here. Nationalist Muslims will, however, vote for the BJP."
At a press conference in Bengaluru on Saturday the Congress played an audio clip, claiming that the BJP candidate from Chittapur Manikanth Rathod used derogatory language for Kharge and could be heard talking about eliminating him and his family.
"We will do anything to keep the BJP out of power...In the interest of Karnataka, my father should become the chief minister," Yathindra Siddaramaiah said.
Thackeray said on Sunday his government is committed towards incorporating into the state the areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are in majority.
In its reply, the state government said reservation solely on the basis of religion is also contrary to the principles of social justice and the concept of social justice aims to protect those who are deprived and discriminated against within the society.
Congress President Kharge likened Modi to a venomous snake on Thursday at a public meeting, which had triggered a row, prompting the BJP to seek an apology from Kharge. Kharge later sought to clarify his remarks were not aimed at the PM but instead at his party, the BJP.
Congress' good show was a "Janata Janardhana Victory", he said, crediting the people for the party's apparent return to power as it established a clear lead ahead of its rival BJP.
Former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who formally quit the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday to form the Karnataka Janata Party, issued a stern warning to the BJP stating that he would not tolerate it if they tried to run him down or his supporters.
BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu, who sat glued to the television, said the final tally of the BJP would be 120 seats, which is 8 more than the magical number to form the government in the 224-member Karnataka legislative assembly. Although B S Yeddyurappa will be the chief minister once the BJP forms the government, a legislative party meeting will be held on Monday to officially announce his name for the top post.
Karnataka Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi, who is in the eye of a political storm for his statement on the origins of the word 'Hindu' and its "dirty meaning", on Wednesday withdrew the remark and expressed "regret" if it has hurt anyone's sentiments.
The BSP is contesting on 20 seats in Karnataka election with an alliance with Janata Dal-Secular while the SP is contesting on 27 on its own.
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