The first Karnataka legislative assembly session, after the formation of the new government will be held on starting Monday next week in Bengaluru.
Here's how some of the heavyweights fared in the Karnataka elections.
The BJP Legislature Party meeting is scheduled for Friday, during which the election of its leader, who will also be the Leader of Opposition in the assembly, is likely to be announced.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has clarified his remarks on the Pahalgam terror attack, saying he did not call for no war with Pakistan, but emphasized that war should only be a last resort. His comments, which were played up by Pakistan media, have sparked criticism from the BJP, which accused him of acting like a "puppet" of an enemy nation.
According to the Congress, 37 leaders associated with JD-S in the 2018 assembly polls, have joined the party so far, in the run up to the upcoming elections.
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 revised salaries of MPs are significantly lower than the salaries drawn by top bureaucrats in the country.
Opposition to the Karnataka government's proposed implementation of a caste census has intensified with dominant communities raising concerns about the survey's findings. The report, which has not been publicly released, is said to contradict traditional perceptions regarding the numerical strength of various castes, particularly Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. These communities, along with political parties, including sections of the ruling Congress, have criticized the survey as "unscientific" and demanded a fresh assessment. The Vokkaligara Sangha and the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha have expressed strong opposition, alleging that the report misrepresents their populations and demanding a fresh survey. Meanwhile, Dalit and OBC groups have defended the survey and its recommendations, including an increase in reservation for OBCs to 51%. The controversy has fueled political tensions in Karnataka, with opposition parties accusing the Congress government of using the caste census for political gain.
'Such steps would be a barrier and something people do not want.'
Seeking clarification, Karnataka Governor has sent back to the government a bill that sought to collect funds from temples with over Rs 10 lakh annual income, citing that a case concerning the earlier related act and amendments made to it is still pending in Supreme Court.
Unhappy with the Question Hour being stretched, Congress MLA Basavaraj Rayareddy said the Speaker should 'tear' the rule book if he is not following it.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced reservation for Muslims in supplying goods and services up to a value of Rs 1 crore to various government departments, corporations and institutions in the state budget for 2025-26. The budget also increased the value limit of government contracts in which Muslims can avail reservation to Rs 2 crore. The reservation to Muslims under 2B category is in addition to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Castes coming under Category-1, Category-2A. The budget also included various welfare schemes for minorities, including Rs 50,000 to support simple marriages and Rs 1,000 crore under the Chief Minister's Minority Colony Development Programme.
If elected to the post, 53-year-old Khader will be the first Muslim leader to serve as Speaker of Karnataka assembly.
Biennial elections to the legislative councils in Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh from 42 local authorities' constituencies will be held on December 10, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said the Centre's decision to include caste enumeration in the next census has exposed the difference between the Modi government's 'true intentions' and the 'empty sloganeering' of the Congress.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday held discussions with his cabinet colleagues in the wake of the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot reportedly issuing him a 'show-cause notice', seen as a precursor to sanctioning his prosecution in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam'.
The Centre on Thursday assured the Supreme Court that it will neither denotify Waqf properties, including "Waqf by user", nor make any appointments to the central Waqf council and boards till May 5.
In the first sign of dissidence in Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party a day after change of guard, 12 disgruntled legislators who failed to get ministerial berths met under the leadership of former minister and mining magnate Karunakara Reddy in Bengaluru.
The Karnataka legislative assembly on Wednesday witnessed chaotic and unruly scenes as angry Bharatiya Jansata Party legislators tore copies of bills and the agenda, and threw them at the deputy speaker, who was presiding, following which Speaker U T Khader suspended 10 of them for the remainder of the session.
Caste census politics took centre stage on Thursday with the Congress terming the government's decision as a 'diversionary tactic' and a move for headlines management and the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it has exposed the difference between the Centre's 'true intentions' and the 'empty sloganeering' of the opposition party.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's statement that even God can't fix Bengaluru traffic in the next two or three years, has come under severe criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, with leader of opposition R Ashoka on Friday demanding that the former step down and make way for someone more capable if he is unable to take responsibility and address the city's traffic issues.
Amid opposition Congress's protest and walkout, the Karnataka legislative assembly on Wednesday okayed the anti-conversion bill, passed by the legislative council last week with minor amendments, that seeks to replace the ordinance that was in place to give effect to the bill.
The Karnataka High Court has quashed the Enforcement Directorate's summons to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M and Urban Development Minister B S Suresh in connection with the MUDA site allotment case. The court ruled that the ED was conducting a parallel investigation despite the case already being probed by the Lokayukta police and a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The ED had alleged that Siddaramaiah and other accused were involved in attempted money laundering in the MUDA site allotment case and that the fourteen sites (plots) allotted to Parvathi in Mysuru upmarket were illegally allotted.
The 75-year-old Eshwarappa, had remained steadfast in his decision to contest, spurning efforts by party leaders to pacify him. He had even filed his nomination as an independent candidate.
This article traces the history of the DMK's fight for state autonomy, beginning with C.N. Annadurai's advocacy in the 1960s and culminating in M. Karunanidhi's resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1974. The article highlights the key figures involved, the arguments presented, and the impact of the Rajamannar Committee Report.
While data can empower communities, it reinforces identities, making local politics more caste-centric, with decisions increasingly contested on the grounds of representation.
Such dynamics could lead to shifting alliances and, in the worst case, local governance getting paralysed as each group demands proportional power-sharing, explain Amitabh Kundu and Mehebub Rahaman.
Senior politician Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the chairman of Karnataka legislative council and MLC, on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
With most exit polls predicting a tight contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls in Karnataka, leaders of the two parties seem 'jittery' over the outcome, while the Janata Dal-Secular appears to be expecting a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation.
With six children of Karnataka ministers in the Lok Sabha poll arena, the campaign scene is getting spiced up in the high-stakes elections for the ruling Congress in the state.
The bill was defeated by a voice vote on February 23 in the upper house, where the Opposition has a majority, after it was passed by the assembly on February 21.
'Indian players in the digital market should not be dominated by global players, and they should not dominate the smaller players -- these discussions are on.'
The term of the 224-member Karnataka assembly ends on May 24.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it. Fadnavis was speaking in the state assembly after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said the government should clarify its stand on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.
The ruling party MLA from Vijayanagara suggested that the election guarantees have made it difficult to provide houses to the poor in the state.
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
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 government also termed the alleged insult to the farmer as an infringement on "dignity and self-respect", and said it cannot be tolerated.
Amid the simmering border dispute, Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai on Wednesday said if Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai does not stop making irresponsible statements, Maharashtra will have to rethink about water supply from its dams to the neighbouring state.
Jaishankar emphasised that the stability of the Middle East region was essential because about one crore Indian citizens live there and said, "a large part of our shipping passes through this region and also, oil comes from there."
The 'Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill' was passed by the Legislative Assembly in December last.
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