After Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra began criss-crossing the Hindi heartland, BJP leaders have revived their attacks on 'dynasty politics' and 'family rule' in the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday charted out a bigger role for his son and Bharatiya Janata Party state vice-president B Y Vijayendra to make a dent into the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular citadel in old Mysuru region.
The court directed the Congress to explain whether they were adhering to COVID norms such as wearing face masks, and maintaining social distancing.
Caste composition is going to be a huge determinant for winning the constituency where Vokkaligas and Lingayats constitute a vast majority, which puts Siddaramaiah in a weaker turf given that he belongs to the Kuruba community.
The Congress's master strategist is so incredibly popular and resourceful that even Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa regretted his arrest. That's the secret of D K Shivakumar's success, says Aditi Phadnis.
Yediyurappa is made of sterner stuff and is not going to yield so easily.
Yediyurappa termed these two years as 'trial by fire', pointing out that he had to run the administration without a cabinet in the initial days, followed by devastating floods and the challenge of COVID-19 management, among other issues.
The cabinet expansion is on the cards for nearly two months ever since the BJP won the maximum number of seats in the December 5, 2019 bypolls and got a majority in the Karnataka assembly.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday expanded his 17-month old cabinet, inducting seven ministers, and indicated that excise minister H Nagesh would be dropped. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
'There were areas where the JD-S put up weak candidates against the Congress to benefit the BJP.'
What kind of chowkidari is Narendra Modi doing, asks Rahul.
'The BJP had no traction in Karnataka and Siddaramaiah would have scraped through if he had not done all that he did.' 'When you pander to one community, the other community gets irritated.' 'Then, when you make fun of the cow and the treating of the cow as sacred, in your effort to belittle the Sangh Parivar and its obscurantism, you are hurting your normal voters too.' 'It is okay to make fun of the Sangh Parivar, but it is not okay to make fun of all Hindus.'
'The question of survival depends on several factors because this country is divided vertically and horizontally.' 'There will always be demands and ups and downs.'
The delay was because the party was not able to finalise the names.
This probably would be the first election in Karnataka where two major factors -- the lobbying and the caste factor -- are not going to be in play, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Vicky Nanjappa reports on why Congress leaders in Karnataka want S M Krishna to campaign for them
The Congress is looking at Channapatna to take revenge on the JD-S which, it believes, has an underhand deal with the BJP to stop it from getting a majority.
The Vokkaliga community, which was upset after D Sadananda Gowda was replaced by Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar as chief minister, has now asked all ministers and MLAs belonging to the community in the BJP to resign immediately.
An own goal in the second minute of extra-time helped Punjab register a 2-1 victory over Air India and claim the second Hockey India Senior Men's National championship title in Bangalore.
Among the ministers in the new cabinet are 8 Lingayats, 7 Vokkaligas, 7 OBCs, 3 SCs, 2 Brahmins, 1 ST and 1 Reddy, and a woman.
India conceded a penultimate minute goal on a penalty corner to allow Belgium secure a 3-3 draw in their opening outing at the Champions Challenge hockey tournament in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Deve Gowda indicated on Sunday that they were ready to compromise.
The thumping victory for the Congress in the by-elections in Karnataka has renewed their hope of winning 25 seats in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
The victories with huge margins came as a Diwali gift and a shot in the arm for the nearly six-month-old alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls after facing frequent questions about its longevity.
The Congress and Janata Dal-Secular are wooing Muslim voters with extravagant promises.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi had on Sunday deliberated on the issue of Rajya Sabha nominations from Karnataka with senior party leaders. There are reports of talks between the Congress and H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) for a possible tie-up for the Rajya Sabha polls.
Congress's K R Ramesh Kumar will be the speaker of Karnataka's Vidhana Soudha (assembly), while the deputy speaker will be appointed from the JD-S.
The constituency comprises nearly 60,000 Kurubas -- a community which the CM belongs to -- and a Muslim population of at least 20,000. With their unified backing, there is no overt danger to the CM, reports Aditi Phadnis.
'For short-term gain, the BJP makes extraordinary promises, they take extraordinary decisions, but in the long term it is going to impact both them and the country.'
The 13th Legislative Assembly in Karnataka is all set to take charge of the affairs of the state in a few days. After being under the President's rule for a long time, Karnataka will finally have a popular government in place. There are certain interesting facts about the 13th Legislative Assembly in Karnataka which will be dominated once again by the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, with 59 and 51 legislators respectively.
Chief Electoral Officer M N Vidyashankar said on Sunday an average of 66 per cent polling was registered in the first phase of elections in the segments spread over 11 districts. This is higher than the 65.07 per cent average polled in the 224 assembly segments in 2004 polls.
The 84-year-old former external affairs minister said that there is a disconnect between the Congress leadership and the rank and file of the party.
'If I look at the four years of UPA rule I am nothing but disappointed. It's an opportunity lost. India was emerging as a strong nation strong in the sense of economy, in terms of sovereignty. We had a strategic position in the region. Look at the entire balance sheet of the UPA. There are many areas of huge disappointments'
At present in Karnataka, if one takes a close look at the manner in which the tickets are being distributed it is clear that caste is being considered while handing out tickets. The Lingayats and the Vokkaligas have been dominant in Karnataka since time immemorial and the tussle for power between these two communities is no secret.
Despite his Janata Dal-Secular finishing a poor third in the electoral battlefield, the 58-year-old Vokkaliga leader wore the crown.
This is the first Cabinet expansion after he assumed office on July 26 and proved his government's majority on the floor of the assembly on July 29.
The BJP is has set its sight on regaining power by winning 150 out of 224 assembly seats.
Siddaramaiah seems overwhelmed by problems coming at him from every direction, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Among the three Deputy Chief Ministers are Govind Karjol, who has also been given the charge of PWD and Social welfare; Ashwath Narayan the portfolio of Higher Education, IT & BT, Science and Technology; and Laxman Savadi with Transport department.
'The results show that he is the best person to manage individuals in the party.'
