Amid speculations of Operation Hasta' going on in Karnataka to woo Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to join the Congress, former BJP minister B C Patil and ex-MLA Narasimha Naik met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar during the birthday party of noted Kannada film actor Sudeep Sanjeev, who is popularly known as Sudeep.
Shivakumar has got the all-important Major and Medium Irrigation and Bengaluru City Development, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
"If the high command wants, I am ready to take up the responsibility," the former deputy chief minister told reporters while demanding that a Dalit should become CM.
"We have built this party (Congress), we have built this house. I am a part of it...A mother will give everything to her child," he said.
A group of Congress leaders have written to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to warn party leaders and state ministers, who are weighing in for the chief minister's post, in the event of leadership change in Karnataka.
The legendary Rahul Dravid expressed deep anguish over the death of 11 people in a stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL victory celebrations.
The scheme would be rolled out on the lines of the model adopted by the Congress government in Karnataka.
Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala said on Sunday that the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has unanimously passed the resolution and the observers will seek the opinions of all MLAs and convey it to the party high command.
Both of them said, the legislature party meeting has been called, most probably on Thursday, as part of a routine exercise to discuss various programmes and policies of the government, and to ensure coordination between government and party MLAs.
The deputy chief minister, he told his voters that their desire (to see him as chief minister) will never be false, and asked them to wait with patience.
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.
The former Karnataka minister said the ED has asked him to appear before it in Delhi on Friday by 1 pm and he was considering all legal options.
The Belagavi administration has banned three Maharashtra ministers and an MP from entering this border district, as they are expected to participate in the "black day" event organised by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) on November 1, on the occasion of Karnataka formation day.
Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attended the swearing in ceremony, while former AICC President Sonia Gandhi was absent. Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukku (Himachal Pradesh) and several top party leaders were also in attendance.
The BJP has vehemently criticized the Karnataka government's decision to provide four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts, labeling it an "unconstitutional misadventure." The party has pledged to challenge the move in court and has vowed to oppose it at all levels. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party has defended the reservation, arguing that it aligns with constitutional provisions. The issue has led to heated exchanges in the Karnataka Assembly, with both parties accusing each other of engaging in appeasement politics.
'The central BJP leaders were determined to push Hindutva hard, and it failed.'
With the demand to have three more Deputy chief ministers resurfacing in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the decision of the Congress high command is final.
Chief minister aspirant and Karnataka state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday cancelled his Delhi trip, hours after confirming he would be flying to the national capital, fuelling speculation that all is not well in the ruling camp over the CM contender issue.
He flew down to Mumbai as a Congress troubleshooter with a mission to save the wobbly coalition government in Karnataka, but minister D K Shivakumar hardly found any support from the Maharashtra unit of his party in his task and was sent packing to his home state.
Amid speculation about the number of MLAs supporting him and senior party colleague Siddaramaiah for the post of Karnataka chief minister, state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday said his strength is 135, as under his presidency, the party won the said number of seats in the assembly polls.
Thousands gathered at Bengaluru's Sankey Tank to witness the historic Cauvery Aarati, a grand water ritual that combined spiritual elements with entertainment. The event, which included laser lights, Vedic chants, and a performance by popular musician Raghu Dixit, attracted a diverse crowd, including young people who were curious to see the spectacle. The event was part of a week-long campaign aimed at raising awareness about water conservation.
To begin with, the consulate in Bengaluru will not offer visa services.
The Karnataka Congress is a "united house" and it will fight the assembly polls next year on its own under a "collective leadership", party's state unit chief DK Shivakumar said on Thursday.
A formal complaint has been lodged against Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star batter Virat Kohli Cubbon Park Police Station in Bengaluru on Friday by social activist H M Venkatesh.
'To draw the attention of the country away from their own misdeeds, the BJP government is taking false actions against Congress leaders'
Apparently aimed at keeping the flock together ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, all ruling Congress MLAs in Karnataka will stay put together at a hotel in Bengaluru on Monday after the budget session of the state legislature concludes and will later also travel together for voting the next day.
Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna had on Saturday floated the idea of having three more DCMs in Karnataka and said he would discuss it with the Congress high command, keeping in mind the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the borewell in his house in Sadashivanagar in the state capital has gone dry for the first time. This happened despite the fact that Sadashivanagar is located next to Sankey Lake.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
The Congress government in Karnataka will provide financial assistance to those allegedly sexually assaulted by Janata Dal-Secular leader Prajwal Revanna, the national party said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, everyone in Karnataka is united to protect the interest of the state.
BJP MLC C T Ravi was arrested in Karnataka, India, for allegedly using derogatory language against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar. He was released on bail by the High Court of Karnataka, which observed that police failed to follow proper procedures during his arrest. The incident has sparked a political showdown between the BJP and the ruling Congress in the state.
Gandhi drove to Kharge's residence and held a closed-door meeting with the Congress chief.
Days after the Karnataka governor granted sanction for the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority case, the Congress' top leadership on Friday expressed its backing for him and alleged that the Centre had unleashed a systematic assault through a 'puppet governor' to destabilise an elected government.
They said the 22-year-old management graduate will be questioned and her statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are considered front-runners for the chief minister's post in the event of Congress coming to power after assembly elections, due in April-May next year.
According to a statement issued by the chief minister's office, the meeting will be held in Vidhana Souda conference Hall.
The Rajya Sabha election scene in Karnataka heated up with the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) combine fielding its second candidate, even though the alliance has the strength to win only one out four seats.
Amidst alleged power struggles within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala has called for discipline within the party, emphasizing that the party is paramount. This comes as the state's chief minister and deputy chief minister submitted a consolidated report on the performance of 31 ministers to Surjewala, fueling speculation about a potential cabinet reshuffle.
Top Congress leaders on Thursday held discussions with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar over expansion of the state Cabinet, sources said.
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