Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president B Y Vijayendra and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh called on state minister Satish Jarkiholi separately on Monday, triggering political speculation.
In BS Yeddyurappa's constituency, Shikaripura, many question BJP's 'sidelining' of its chief ministerial candidate.
Many well wishers of Yeddyurappa are still hopeful that he will go back to the BJP fold, says Vicky Nanjappa
The BJP is has set its sight on regaining power by winning 150 out of 224 assembly seats.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday clarified that the administration was only contemplating lifting the ban on wearing hijab in educational institutions in the state and a decision will be taken after holding discussions at the government level.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, IT industry veteran N R Narayana Murthy along with wife Sudha Murty, and Mysuru royal family member 'Rajamate' Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, were among the early voters who cast their ballot in the Karnataka Assembly polls.
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party strongman and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday said his son and party's state Vice-President B Y Vijayendra will be contesting 2023 assembly polls from his Shikaripura constituency, which he will be vacating.
The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed.
The move was also seen as placating the Lingayat community, which is considered to be the core vote base of the party with some exceptions in the previous Assembly polls, and also to keep party strong man and octogenarian leader B S Yediyurappa in good humour.
The chief minister said no one should indulge in vote bank politics
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party vice president and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa's son BY Vijayendra on Monday said he will contest the 2023 state assembly polls if the party's central leadership gives its nod.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP national general Secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam, BJP state unit president B Y Vijayendra, and former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai were among those present at the legislature party meeting, where R Ashoka was picked as its leader.
A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.
'There is huge anger among our workers and leaders, so many of us have decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka as Independents to fight against this injustice.'
Hailing former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, calling him a "role model", he also advocated for more women representation in the assembly.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in the town.
Here's how some of the heavyweights fared in the Karnataka elections.
With Bharatiya Janata Party facing 'dynasty politics' criticism, following the appointment of veteran leader B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra as its Karnataka unit president, party's senior leader C T Ravi on Saturday tried to dodge related questions, and in a cryptic remark said he too is being haunted by certain 'questions'.
Indicating that Monday might be his last day in office, Yediyurappa had recently said that based on the instructions that the central leaders will give him on July 25, he will begin "his work" from July 26.
A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till on Monday, even as parties faced "rebel trouble" in several segments.
The 79-year old veteran leader, who has already announced his retirement from electoral politics, said there is no question of him sitting at home, and after the assembly session he will tour the state and campaign for the party and its candidates.
As Karnataka gears up for D-Day, with most exit poll projections predicting a hung assembly while putting the Congress in the lead, the outcome will boil down to how the battle for some key constituencies play out.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on an official visit to Bengaluru to attend various events, on Friday met Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party strongman and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, at his residence for breakfast and held discussions.
Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, came to the defence of his son, saying he never made those comments.
BJP Karnataka strongman B S Yediyurappa on Thursday dismissed reports he is being neglected in the party and said he has his own strength and no one can finish him off politically.
In an election where every seat will matter, micro-strategising is going to be the order of the day. And in such a situation, party infighting - in all parties --could lead to unpredictable results.
For the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka, the following are the 20 seats to watch out for.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday released its first list of 189 candidates for the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, fielding Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from his traditional Shiggaon constituency.
There seems to be no "closure" for B S Yediyurappa, the Bharatiya Janata Party's "comeback man" in Karnataka, as he could never complete a full term in office, despite becoming the chief minister four times, surmounting odds. It's also too early to write a political obituary of the 78-year old Lingayat strongman and the 24X7 politician, the face of the party in the state for decades.
The octogenarian, who has already announced his retirement from electoral politics, is sought to be put on the pedestal by the governing party's central leaders.
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.
In Vijayapura, Yediyurappa said neither he nor his son have made any such statements, and would not like to react to comments made by someone close to Vijayendra.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has suffered a major set back in Karnataka's Shikaripura town -- the home constituency of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Losing power after having come so close, Yediyurappa was determined to regain the reins of power from H D Kumaraswamy.
Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa has navigated the choppy waters of politics with the consummate ease of a seasoned oarsman, defying tidal waves of adversity
Ignoring the recommendation of the state unit to field Vijayendra for the June 3 biennial elections to seven seats of Karnataka Legislative Council, the party central leadership on Tuesday announced names of four candidates, hours before the deadline for filing of nominations ended.
B Y Vijayendra said power and position itself are not the ultimate objectives in politics.
While Bangarappa senior is taking on B S Yeddyurappa at Shikaripura, his sons are battling hard for his legacy. Kumar and Madhu Bangarappa, from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party respectively, are competing against each other at the Soraba constituency in Shimoga -- 38 kms from Shikaripura. The former chief minister has won the elections from this constituency seven times in a row, between 1967 and 1994, before making way for his sons.
N Navalesh will take on Yeddyurappa in Shikaripura constituency where the former chief minister and state Samajwadi Party chief S Bangarappa is also in fray. The polling for Shikaripura will be held in the second phase on May 16.
Here's how the prominent leaders in the fray in Karataka elections have performed.
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