The party bagged 11 of the 25 seats, from 20 Local Authorities' constituencies in the state, for which the biennial election was held on December 10, and counting was taken up today, poll officials said.
In the first electoral battle since the new government under Chief Minister D K Shivakumar took charge in Karnataka, the ruling Congress on Thursday won five of the seven Legislative Council seats that went to polls, while the opposition Bhjaratiya Janata Party bagged two.
Sources said the party top brass including Gandhi and Kharge held several hours of discussions with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, apart from meeting them separately, and is likely to take a call on a possible change of guard in the state after the Rajya Sabha polls, which are due next month.
The election was necessitated as the term of office of seven members expires on June 14.
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.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is set to meet with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi to discuss the state cabinet reshuffle following Siddaramaiah's resignation. Key topics include Rajya Sabha and MLC candidates, as well as potential appointments of multiple Deputy CMs to maintain social and regional balance.
Speculation around leadership change and a Cabinet reshuffle has intensified after the Congress government completed three years in office on May 20.
The Karnataka Legislative Council passed a bill to curb hate speech, facing strong opposition from BJP and JD(S), who criticized it as 'draconian' and a threat to free speech. The bill proposes jail terms and fines for hate crimes and repeated offenses.
The Congress party's top leadership, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and K C Venugopal, met with Karnataka's chief minister-designate D K Shivakumar and incumbent Siddaramaiah to finalise the new cabinet, which is scheduled to be sworn in on June 3 in Bengaluru.
The Karnataka cabinet has approved eight draft bills, including those addressing hate speech, cattle slaughter, and social boycott, to be tabled in the upcoming legislative session.
Speculation is mounting that Siddaramaiah will announce his resignation from the CM's post in a couple of days, mostly on Thursday, to clear the path for Shivakumar.
A Shiv Sena legislator has expressed serious concerns about the deteriorating law and order situation in Nanded, Maharashtra, following a series of murders and reports of widespread illegal firearms and extortion.
The Congress Legislature Party is scheduled to meet to elect its new leader, who will succeed Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka. D K Shivakumar is widely expected to be elected as the new leader of the CLP.
The new Cabinet in Karnataka led by chief minister-designate D K Shivakumar is likely to be a small one with 10-14 ministers including some young faces, sources said on Tuesday. The top Congress leadership on Tuesday held day-long deliberations with outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar on giving final shape to the new cabinet in the state.
D K Shivakumar, the Vokkaliga strongman and state Congress President, is set to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka today at 4:05 pm at Lok Bhavan. The ceremony will also see some ministers taking oath, though the final list is awaiting approval from the Congress high command.
Senior politician Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the chairman of Karnataka legislative council and MLC, on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Gehlot had on Wednesday refused to deliver the address to the Karnataka legislature, leading to a stalemate over the fate of the customary speech that outlines the government's policies.
The 'Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill' was passed by the Legislative Assembly in December last.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has refused to address the joint sitting of the state legislature, prompting government intervention. The reasons are unclear, but follow similar incidents in other states.
Karnataka Legislative Council Deputy Chairman S L Dharme Gowda was found dead on a rail track in Chikkamagaluru district in the early hours of Tuesday, with police sources claiming he died by suicide.
The three seats fell vacant following the resignations of Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar and Laxman Savadi to contest the assembly elections.
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.
'Lakhs of transgender people's identities will get erased. Many of them will go into hiding and lead depressing lives.'
The passing of bills without Parliament, including the treasury benches, having any real understanding of what they contained through any rigorous process has accelerated through the Modi era, points out Aakar Patel.
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw met with Karnataka's Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister on Diwali, amidst ongoing concerns about Bengaluru's infrastructure.
BJP leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy alleges 'horse-trading' within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, claiming MLAs are being offered bribes. He also accuses AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala of demanding money from ministerial aspirants and plans to write to the Enforcement Directorate.
'It should not be politicised. If this happens in a BJP-ruled state, we should not blame them.'
'We try to connect people, but they disconnect people.'
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party MLC C T Ravi was arrested after a first information report (FIR) was registered against him, for allegedly using a derogatory word against minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in the Legislative Council on Thursday, police said.
Eighteen BJP MLAs were suspended for six months from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for disrupting the budget session and disrespecting the Speaker. The incident occurred on the last day of the budget session, when the opposition BJP MLAs staged a massive protest over the allocation of a four percent reservation to Muslims in public contracts. The MLAs climbed onto the podium where the Speaker's chair is situated and threw papers at him.
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and 12 states on a PIL challenging the validity of their anti-conversion laws. The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) filed the PIL, seeking a stay on the operation of these laws.
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 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.
As Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda prepares to face an acid test in the Karnataka legislative assembly on Thursday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs have been locked up at the posh Golden Palms resort in the outskirts of Bangalore.
'It is not as if Hindus are not being touched at all, and only Muslims are.'
Chinchansur, a prominent leader of the Koli-Kabbaliga community in the Kalyana Karnataka region, resigned from his post of Member of the Legislative Council on Monday.
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.
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.
