BJP calls statewide bandh to protest against killing of 2 students in Islampur

BJP calls statewide bandh to protest against killing of 2 students in Islampur.

Multimedia News: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called a statewide shutdown in West Bengal to protest against the killing of two students in Islampur clash.

Protestors vandalised government buses and burnt tyres in Midnapore.

Drivers of government buses wore helmets in Cooch Behar after vandalising incidents.

Police in large numbers are deployed to control the situation.
Two students were allegedly killed in police firing in North Dinajpur's Islampur.

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BJP calls Statewide Bandh

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News Source: BS & Business Standard

'Ajeya Bharat, Atal BJP': PM Modi's theme song for 2019 Lok Sabha Elections

The two topmost leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah — made light of the challenge posed by the Opposition’s mahagatbandhan. BJP chief Shah spoke of a 50-year unbroken reign for the BJP. “We will win the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and there would be none who can oust us for the next 50 years,” Shah told his party’s National Executive.



2019 Lok Sabha Elections: Delivering the concluding speech of the event, the PM gave the slogan of Ajeya Bharat, Atal Bhajapa (victorious India, steadfast BJP) to his party for the 2019 polls, and asked party workers to win each and every polling booth.
In the morning, the National Executive passed a political resolution that presented the party’s agenda of building a New India by 2022 that would be free of casteism, corruption, communalism, and terrorism. It said the Opposition had no agenda other than ‘Modi roko’.

In a reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family of the Congress party, Modi said the alternative before people was his 48-month rule versus that of 48 years of one family. The PM accused the Opposition, particularly the Congress, of fighting the electoral battle based on “lies and falsehood”, which should be refuted strongly by spreading the message of his government’s performance.

Ajeya Bharat, Atal BJP

In his speech, the PM said the BJP has ruled Gujarat for 31 years, and it was inspired by a sense of service and development, and not arrogance. He said the party has remained steadfast in its principles, but its strategy is dynamic. Modi said an effective Opposition is necessary for a healthy democracy, but does not see any challenge for 2019.

The PM said today’s Opposition was a failure in government, and is a failure in Opposition as well. He suggested that one family served none but itself in its 48-year rule. Modi said the Congress was fighting the electoral battle based on lies, and asked party workers to defeat this by presenting facts to the people. Modi said the Congress had given the slogan of ‘garibi hatao’, or poverty alleviation, but ended up nationalising coal mines and banks, but some years later admitted its mistake and started walking on the path of reform. “We need to expose Congress party’s lies,” Modi told party leaders.

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Ajeya Bharat, Atal BJP

Atal Bihari Vajpayee 'father of modern telecom in India'

Vajpayee's government ushered in the new policy that did away with the fixed licence fees.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Death News: Telecom industry leaders today termed former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away at the age of 93, as father of modern telecommunication in the country.

Bharti Enterprise Chairman and founder of Bharti Airtel Sunil Bharti Mittal said he was a great economic reformer and can truly be called father of modern telecommunication in the country, having ushered in the National Telecom Policy in 1999, which "helped the industry overcome some of its toughest early challenges".

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Funeral

Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who earlier owned BPL mobile service company, said that Vajpayee was responsible for opening up the telecom sector and giving policy impetus to expand telecommunication sector in the country.

Chandrasekhar said the telecom policy of 1999 released by the NDA government under Vajpayee paved the way for structural reforms in the sector, leading to unprecedented growth of mobile subscribers, introduction of fierce competition into the mobile telephony sector, and deep-rooted reforms in the regulatory regime, which was followed up by the amendment of the TRAI Act in...continue reading

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News Source: BS

Fate of the nation must not be allowed to hang by the horn of a cow

The lynchings then are explicitly the front line of forces seeking to retain power in 2019 - a campaign where the political is brutally intended to ride on a fake spiritual.

Latest News : There is the Brahminical belief that the surest way to cross the perilous Vaitarni river on the way to heaven is to hang by the tail of a cow.

Well, what do you know, this seems equally true of crossing the majority mark in the Lok Sabha.

Consider the statement by an RSS leader that cow-related lynching will stop only if people ceased to consume beef. Clearly, Indresh Kumar seems privy to things on the ground that we merely speculate about.

An even more explicit admonition has come from Vinay Katiyar: Muslims ought not to touch cows. What could be a more no-nonsense enunciation of the right-wing political bottom line.

Cow Lynching

Had the cow been wholly a subject of faith and not of politics, Kiren Rijiju, a cabinet minister at the Centre, could hardly be spared by the lynch mobs, having declared that he eats beef and will continue to do so. Or Manohar Parrikar, chief minister of Goa, for saying beef will be available in the state. Nor would the fortunes of beef-eating Meghalaya have remained unaffected had the Bharatiya Janata Party’s political stakes there not been so high.

The lynchings then are explicitly the front line of forces seeking to retain power in 2019 – a campaign where the political is brutally intended to ride on a fake spiritual.

You may shout hoarse that this cynical praxis not only conceals the failure of the Narendra Modi government on multiple fronts, but bids fair to cause a grievous long-festering wound to the body politic. For whom it is fatally important to hold on to the reins of state power – a well-defined and well-understood political-ideological legacy informing that imperative – anything is par for the course. Any new fake morality may be constructed to...continue reading

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News Source : BS

Karnataka Election Results 2018: 77 newly-elected MLAs have criminal background; BJP tops with 42

Out of the 77 newly-elected legislators who have declared criminal cases against themselves, 54 MLAs have declared serious criminal cases, like murder and attempt to murder.

Karnataka Election Results 2018 : There has been a steady rise in the number of MLAs with a criminal background in the Karnataka assembly. Among the 221 newly-elected MLAs, 77 (35%) have declared criminal cases against themselves, of which 54 MLAs have declared serious criminal cases, like murder and attempt to murder.

In 2013, the Karnataka assembly had 34% of MLAs having criminal cases against them, while in 2008, the proportion of elected MLAs with a criminal background was 24%.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has bagged the highest number of seats at 104, has 42 (41 per cent) MLAs with criminal backgrounds, followed by the Congress at 23 out of their 78 and 11 of the 37 elected legislators of the Janta Dal (Secular) have declared criminal cases against themselves.

When it comes to wealth, a majority of elected MLAs cutting across party lines have made the cut as millionaires, with 215 out of the 221 MLAs declaring assets of Rs 10 million and more.

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Also Read : Yeddyurappa takes oath as Karnataka Chief Minister

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Overall, almost 50% of the total number of elected MLAs have declared assets worth Rs 100 million and above. In comparison, out of the 218 MLAs analysed during Karnataka 2013 assembly elections, 203 (93%) MLAs were millionaires, while in 2008, the proportion of millionaires among elected legislators was 63%, said the ADR analysis.

The three MLAs with the highest assets are from the Congress – N Nagaraju (Rs 10.15 billion, D K Shivakumar (Rs 6.4 biilion), and Suresh B S (Rs 4.6 billion).

Reflecting a skewed gender balance, there are only seven women among the 222 newly elected legislators, compared with five in 2013.

When it comes to educational qualifications, 61 per cent or 135 of the elected legislators are graduates or above, 36 per cent or 80 of them have declared themselves as Class V-XII pass, one MLA has said he is ‘literate’ while one has not declared anything.

Age-wise, a majority of the 135 MLAs (61 per cent) are between 41 and 60 years old, 64 or 29 per cent are between 61 and 60 years old, only 15 MLAs are between 25 and 40 years old and three are above 80 years old.

Read More on → MLAs with Criminal Background

Karnataka Election Results 2018: Hung house in Karnataka; Congress and BJP spar over poaching rumors; Updates

After results to the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 threw up a hung Assembly on Tuesday, both BJP and Congress-JD(S) combine are targetting each other with allegations of poaching of legislators.

Karnataka Election Results 2018 : A day after the Karnataka Assembly election results threw up a fractured mandate, some members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were reported to be claiming that they were in touch with several of elected members of legislative Assembly (MLAs) from the Congress and the JD(S), and that the BJP would definitely form the next government in the state.

The BJP, apparently, is in talks with at least seven of the 10 Lingayat legislators of the Congress who are unhappy with the party for dividing the Lingayat community votes and are unwilling to accept Kumaraswamy, a Vokkaliga, as their chief minister. Sources in the BJP told Business Standard that the party was also in touch with about half a dozen JD(S) MLAs who might be willing to abstain from voting at the time of the floor test.

Congress leader D K Shivakumar, while talking to news agency ANI, said that the party had a plan and that they were facing a lot of pressure with the BJP trying to poach Congress MLAs.

Also Read : BJP Falls Short Of Majority; Cong-JD(S) Stitch Alliance

In the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 results, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, with 104 seats, but it fell short of the halfway mark of 112 in the 224-seat state Assembly by 9 seats. Congress ended up as the second-biggest with 78 seats, and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) stood third with 38 seats. The Congress and the JD(S) decided to come together to form a coalition government.

At present, the ball is in the court of Governor Vajubhai Vala, who will decide which side would be invited to form the next government. According to an NDTV report, both sides would meet the governor again on Wednesday to make their case stronger.

Karnataka Assembly election 2018 saw a record 72.36 per cent of the 50.7 million (5.07 crore) voters exercising their right to franchise. Of them, 27,908 electors in defence services voted through postal ballots. The Election Commission had deployed 16,662 personnel for counting of votes amid tight security.

Four of the seven polling agencies had predicted in their exit polls that the BJP would emerge as the single-largest party. While most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly with the BJP ahead, two had said the BJP would either come very close to or cross the halfway mark of 112 seats. The India Today-Axis exit poll had said the Congress might bag a majority. All exit polls had given the H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) nearly two dozen seats or more. The JD(S), however, beat that projection by bagging 37 seats.

READ MORE ON → Karnataka Results 2018

Karnataka Election Results 2018: Karnataka fate hangs in balance; BJP or Congress, who will have the last laugh?

While the BJP emerged single-largest, it was the JD(S) which turned kingmaker helping the Congress keep power in a crucial southern state.

Karnataka Election Results 2018 : Karnataka is headed for a spell of political instability as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged the single-largest party with 104 seats after the just-concluded Assembly elections, but could not reach the halfway mark of 112. The Congress, with 78 seats, acted with swiftness and agility, contacted the H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), with 38 seats, offered the smaller party chief ministership and stitched up an agreement to forestall an understanding between the JD(S) and the BJP.

At the time of filing this report, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala had remained non-committal on the claims of the parties, asking them to wait until the official tally is declared. Constitutional experts said the Governor was not obligated to call the single-largest party for a first stab at forming a government though the majority must be tested on the floor of the House.

As was widely expected, while the BJP emerged single-largest, it was the JD(S) which turned kingmaker, helping the Congress keep power in a crucial southern state. The BJP’s jubilant mood, when the initial results first poured in, turned to gloom as it became clear that the halfway mark was going to elude it. A scheduled press conference by party President Amit Shah was called off, a lunch party organised at the BJP headquarters was cancelled and drum players, who had congregated at the headquarters in Delhi, were asked to go home in a matter of hours. Bouquets of flower lay piled up forlornly at the headquarters, testifying to the disappointment of workers.

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Also Read : BJP vs Congress-JD(S): Karnataka’s fate now in Governor’s hands; highlights

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It was clear from initial reactions in Bengaluru and Delhi that the BJP was not interested in tying up with the JD(S) to form a government at any cost. The Congress, which had indicated on Monday that it was ready to be flexible about the top job (with former chief minister (CM) Siddaramaiah announcing that he was ready to accept a Dalit CM) got top leader Sonia Gandhi to call Gowda and persuade his son Kumaraswamy to become CM with the Congress’ backing to keep the BJP out. Although the JD(S) has roughly half the number of seats the Congress has, it grabbed the offer of chief ministership eagerly.

The BJP claimed it had the mandate to form the government. But the Congress and the JD(S), which together have a few seats more than the saffron party, retorted that they had got the mandate to prevent the BJP from forming a government. In a sense, the Congress did a BJP on the BJP. In Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur elections in 2017, the BJP tied up with smaller parties and Independents under the nose of the Congress, though the party was single-largest, and managed to form a government, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. “The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Goa, Meghalaya, and Manipur that a single-largest party does not automatically qualify to form the government,” Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in defence of the Congress-JD(S) claim to form a government.

 Read More on → Karnataka Results 2018

Karnataka Election Results 2018 LIVE Updates: BJP leads in 67 seats, Cong in 42; top updates

Karnataka election result 2018 will be declared soon. Backing the exit polls, the satta bazaar is of the opinion that the Modi wave is still intact and it is betting big on a BJP win. LIVE updates.

Karnataka Election Results 2018 → BJP forged ahead leading in 107 seats while the ruling Congress was leading in 67 constituencies today in the Karnataka Assembly polls, according to initial trends.

JD(S) was leading in forty five seats, more than an hour after counting of votes. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was ahead in the Badami assembly constituency in north Karnataka, but trailing in Chamundeshwari in his home town Mysuru by over 11,000 votes against his main rival G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S). The BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, B S Yeddyurappa, was ahead in Shikaripura, and JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara. Prominent among those trailing include ministers Ramamnatha Rai from Bantwal and H C Mahadevappa from T Narasipura, the sources said. Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa from Shivamogga, senior most candidate in the electoral fray and minister Kagodu Timmappa from Sagara and the chief minister’s son, Yatindra, from Varuna were also leading over their rivals.

Karnataka election has been billed as the biggest political battle of 2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party ‘s(BJP’s) bid to reclaim the state has faced its toughest challenge from one man – chief minister Siddaramaiah, who looks to beat incumbency. Who will Karnataka pick? The voters have decided and the entire nation will know the Karnataka election 2018 result today.

Also Read → Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018

Meanwhile, four of the seven polling agencies predicted in their exit polls that the BJP would emerge the single-largest party today. While most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly with the BJP ahead, two said the BJP would either come very close to or cross the halfway mark of 112 seats, while the India Today-Axis exit poll said the Congress might bag a majority. All exit polls gave the H D Deve Gowda led Janata Dal (Secular) nearly two dozen seats or more, which could make it the kingmaker in case of a hung Assembly.

A win for the Congress would boost the party’s morale for the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in November-December, and for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It would also ensure that the party would not be reduced to ruling only one big state, Punjab, in the entire country. Apart from Punjab, the Congress has governments in only Puducherry and Mizoram.

Read More → Karnataka Election Results

Karnataka Election Results 2018 Live Updates: BJP takes early lead; top 10 developments

Karnataka election result 2018 will be declared soon. Backing the exit polls, the satta bazaar is of the opinion that the Modi wave is still intact and it is betting big on a BJP win. LIVE updates.

Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election 2018 - The high-stakes battle for the 222-seat Karnataka Assembly ended on Saturday and India will soon know the outcome. The counting of votes is underway, and according to the procedure, postal ballots were counted first. Initial trends hint that Karnataka is headed for a hung Assembly. "All arrangements have been made for counting of votes in 222 seats from 8 am onwards at 38 centres in 30 districts, including five in Bengaluru where polling was held in 26 of the 28 segments," Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said.

A record 72.36 per cent of the 50.7 million electors cast their votes, with 27,908 in defence services exercising their franchise through postal ballots. The Election Commission has deployed 16,662 personnel for counting of votes amid tight security. "Postal ballots will be counted first before the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are opened," Kumar said.

Karnataka election has been billed as the biggest political battle of 2018. The Bharatiya Janata Party 's(BJP's) bid to reclaim the state has faced its toughest challenge from one man - chief minister Siddaramaiah, who looks to beat incumbency. Who will Karnataka pick? The voters have decided and the entire nation will know the Karnataka election 2018 result today.

Also Read → Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018

Meanwhile, four of the seven polling agencies predicted in their exit polls that the BJP would emerge the single-largest party today. While most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly with the BJP ahead, two said the BJP would either come very close to or cross the halfway mark of 112 seats, while the India Today-Axis exit poll said the Congress might bag a majority. All exit polls gave the H D Deve Gowda led Janata Dal (Secular) nearly two dozen seats or more, which could make it the kingmaker in case of a hung Assembly.

A win for the Congress would boost the party’s morale for the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in November-December, and for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It would also ensure that the party would not be reduced to ruling only one big state, Punjab, in the entire country. Apart from Punjab, the Congress has governments in only Puducherry and Mizoram.

No government in Karnataka since the Ramakrishna Hegde-led Janata Party in 1985 has been re-elected.

Read More → Karnataka Election Results 2018

Karnataka Elections 2018 : Rahul slams Narendra Modi over BJP leader bribery sting; updates

With just one more day to go for the Karnataka Assembly election, the voter ID card row continues while the Congress corners BJP over an alleged bribery sting. Catch all Karnataka polls updates here.

 

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » With voting just a day away, the BJP and Congress’ high-voltage campaign for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 has ended. The campaigning in the run-up to the crucial polls saw everything from a cross-fire of barbs to a voter ID row.

On the last day, Congress President Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government for issues ranging from atrocities against Dalits to the country’s foreign policy as he expressed confidence in winning the Karnataka polls “hands down”. BJP President Amit Shah, meanwhile, accused the Congress of making desperate attempts to win the election in an “undemocratic” way, adding that such machinations would not work and that his party would win 130-plus seats.

On Saturday, voters in the state will decide who got it right.

The Congress’ candidate from Bengaluru’s Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Assembly segment has been booked in connection with the recovery of close to 10,000 voter ID cards from a flat there, along with over 100,000 counterfoils resembling acknowledgement slips used for addition of names into electoral rolls.

Further, the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday night deferred a decision on the recovery of voter ID cards from the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar flat, even as it sought fresh information from the state election machinery.

Of course, the end of the official election campaign at 5 pm on Thursday did not mean that the allegations and accusations also stopped. Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegations that BJP leader B Sriramulu had bribed former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan.

The accusation is based on a “sting” video showing the state BJP leader allegedly trying to bribe a kin of the former Chief Justice of India to get a favourable verdict for mining baron G Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case. State electoral authorities on Thursday directed TV news channels not to air the video.

The election in 223 of the 224 constituencies in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will be held on May 12, and the counting of votes and announcement of the result will take place on May 15. The election for one constituency has been postponed following the death of B N Vijay Kumar, the Jayanagar BJP candidate.

Get Latest Updates on → Karnataka Elections 2018

Karnataka Elections 2018: Campaigning ends today; voter ID row continues; updates

With Karnataka Assembly election 2018 now on their heads, the BJP and Congress have just one more day to convince and woo voters. Catch all the updates around the Karnataka election here

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » With the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 just two days away, the BJP and Congress’ high-voltage campaigning will come to an end on Thursday at 5 pm. Eyeing to sweep the crucial polls, the political parties will hold multiple rallies today in their last attempt to woo the voter. For the BJP, party president Amit Shah and the party’s chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa will be campaigning in the state today, while Congress President Rahul Gandhi and incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will campaign for their party on the final day.

Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Gandhi, the Karnataka election campaign has also seen political heavyweights Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaign for their respective parties.

The last day of campaigning for the Karnataka polls comes after Prime Minister Modi and Congress chief Gandhi were face-to-face in the state on the second last day for the campaigning. Working seriously on his ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ mission, Modi used all of his oratory skills to lambast the Congress in his four election rallies on Wednesday. On the other hand, Gandhi said in his Basavanagudi rally that the people of Karnataka would reject Prime Minister Modi and the BJP. The Congress president also attacked the Prime Minister for being silent on the issue of alleged Dalit atrocities.

The election in Karnataka will be held on May 12 in 223 constituencies, out of the 224 constituencies of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, while th e counting of votes and announcement of result will take place on May 15. The election for one constituency has been postponed following the death of B N Vijay Kumar, the Jayanagar BJP candidate.

Last day of Karnataka polls campaigning today: The high-voltage campaigning for the crucial Karnataka Assembly polls will come to an end on Thursday at 5 pm. The campaign has seen Modi, Shah, Adityanath, Yeddyurappa and other BJP leaders square off against Congress chief Gandhi, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and Siddaramaiah, with both parties going hammer and tongs at each other over who has neglected farmers more and who has more corrupt candidates in the fray, among other topics of contention.

Also Read : Fake Voter ID Row

Karnataka Elections 2018 : Sonia Gandhi questions Modi’s ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ slogan

The Congress leader said,” Modi is a good orator and speaks like an actor but that would not feed people”.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » Holding her first election rally in two years, UPA chairperson president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Modi government of discriminating against Congress-ruled Karnataka, and questioned his slogan of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’.

Launching a counteroffensive against the prime minister, who has relentlessly targeted the Siddaramaiah government over corruption, she wanted to know what happened to the institution of Lok Pal, the anti-graft watchdog that was proposed to be set up.

“The Modi government is discriminating against our government in Karnataka. Is this your ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ (together with all, development for all)?” she said.

The Congress leader said,” Modi is a good orator and speaks like an actor but that would not feed people.”

The much-awaited Lokpal Bill got the presidential assent in January 2014, providing for the creation of an anti-graft watchdog which will bring under its purview even the prime minister with certain safeguards. However, the institution is yet to be set up.

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Also Read :  Lok Sabha Elections 2019 : Ready to be PM if Congress comes to power, says Rahul Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of pursuing a ‘divide and rule’ policy on a day when Congress president Rahul Gandhi said he was ready to be prime minister if his party wins 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The day was also marked by the debut of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in the Karnataka Assembly campaign and complaints by the Congress that the income-tax department was singling out the party’s leadership for raids.

The election campaign ends on Thursday and the state goes to the polls on Saturday. Counting will be held on May 15.

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Full Updates on → Karnataka Elections 2018

Karnataka Elections 2018 : Over 9,000 voter IDs seized from Bengaluru house; updates

Three days before Karnataka Assembly election 2018, a ‘fake’ voter ID row has erupted in the poll-bound state, with BJP and Congress accusing each other of involvement. Catch all the update here.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » Just three days before Karnataka Assembly election 2018, the Election Commission of Karnataka on Tuesday confirmed that its officials recovered 9,746 Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) from an apartment in Bengaluru’s Jalahalli area of the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar constituency. Reacting to the development, the BJP demanded cancellation of polling in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar, accusing the Congress of trying to “rig” the polls. Congress hit back, saying that a BJP leader was the owner of the Bengaluru flat from where the ‘fake’ voter cards had been found.

The development came hours after former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced off against each other while campaigning in Karnataka. The prime minister and the UPA chairperson attacked each other with stinging barbs, with Modi accusing Gandhi and her son (Congress President) Rahul Gandhi of destroying Congress to save the “dynasty”, and Gandhi saying Modi’s speeches alone could not “fill empty stomachs”.

Polling in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 will be held on May 12 and the results will be out on May 15.

Nearly 10,000 voter IDs seized from a Bengaluru flat: The Election Commission of Karnataka on Tuesday confirmed that they recovered 9,746 electors photo identity cards from an apartment in Bengaluru’s Jalahalli area, which falls under the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar constituency. In a midnight briefing on Tuesday, Chief Electoral Officer for Karnataka Sanjiv Kumar said that according to the preliminary verification, the ID cards were of actual electors and appeared to be prima facie genuine.

Apart from the IDs, five laptops, one printer, and two large steel trunks with counterfoil strips resembling acknowledgement slips of Form 6 used for addition of names onto the electoral rolls were also recovered from the apartment during the raid. Kumar added that the significance of the counterfoils can only be verified after due investigation.

The state election commission added that an FIR has been registered in the matter and further investigations will be conducted on the same. It further assured that in the next 24 hours, when more information is available, firm action will be taken.

Read Full Updates here → Fake Voter ID Row

Karnataka Elections 2018 : Farmers are in distress but a loan waiver may not help

Karnataka’s farmers, battling drought and water shortage, have been under dire financial duress.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto for the Karnataka assembly elections 2018 released on May 4, 2018, declared that farm loans upto Rs 100,000 in nationalised banks and cooperative societies would be waived. A few days earlier, the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate and party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa promised a waiver of agriculture loans in both nationalised banks and cooperative societies if his party came to power, hoping, as a consequence, he said, for a 3-4% rise in vote share for his party.

As Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, running the only Congress government in southern India, tries to remain in favour of the electorate ahead of the May 12 elections to the state assembly, he has his task cut out. Among other steps, the government waived Rs 8,165 crore of farm loans from cooperative banks in 2017, claiming this would benefit more than 2.2 million farmers.

Rural Karnataka, which accounts for 154 (69%) of the state’s 224 legislative constituencies, has to remain the primary focus. Karnataka’s farmers, battling drought and water shortage, have been under dire financial duress, and how well the Siddaramaiah government is seen to handle this challenge will be among the factors that will determine a positive outcome for his government.

While the government is implementing the farm loan waiver, experts believe that the such a move will help in the short-run to win elections, but will not help in the welfare of farmers in the long term till agriculture is made more remunerative.

In both districts, families in which farmers had killed themselves said the ex-gratia compensation of Rs 500,000 had not diminished their loan burden, primarily because erratic rainfall and unremunerative prices have squeezed incomes, perpetuating dependence on moneylenders.

Nevertheless, the farmers and their families said they appreciated the support provided by the government in the form of loan waivers and ex-gratia compensation, despite delays in paying out monthly pensions. Farmers we spoke to in Yadgir said that they would vote for the present government, while in Mandya which has strong Vokkaliga (sect) presence and is a Janata Dal (Secular) stronghold, they are undecided, although they were not unhappy with the government.

Read more on → Karnataka Farmers

Karnataka Elections 2018: BJP fields most criminals, Congress the richest candidates

BJP at the first spot and Congress at second position in giving tickets to candidates with criminal background in Karnataka Assembly Election 2018. Catch latest updates on Karnataka polls 2018.

 

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is at the first spot and the Congress is at the second position in giving tickets to candidates with criminal background in the Karnataka Assembly Election 2018, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The top three candidates with highest assets among all the candidates in fray belong to the ruling Congress — Priyakrishna, from Govindarajanagar constituency with Rs 10.20 billion worth total assets, N Nagaraju from Hosakote Assembly seat with assets valued at Rs 10.15 billion and the state Energy Minister D K Shivakumar from Kanakapura segment with Rs 8.4 billion assets.

The ADR released the report after analysing the affidavits filed by 2,560 candidates, which said that 391 candidates declared criminal cases against themselves.

Of the total candidates, the watchdog could not analyse details of 95 candidates belonging to national, regional, local and fringe parties, as their affidavits were badly scanned or were incomplete on the websites of the karnataka polls panel and the Chief Electoral Officer of the southern state.

“Among major parties, 83 (37%) out of 224 candidates from BJP, 59 (27%) out of 220 candidates analysed from Indian Nataional Congress, 41 (21%) out of 199 candidates analysed from Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)], 5 (20%) out of 25 candidates analysed from Janata Dal (United) [JD (U)] , 5 (19%) out of 27 candidates analysed from Aam Aadmi Party [AAP] and 108 (10%) out of 1090 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits,” said the report.

“There are 254 (10%) candidates who have declared serious criminal cases registered against themselves, four candidates have declared case related to murder (Indian Penal Code Section-302) against themselves, and 25 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (Indian Penal Code Section-307) against themselves,” said the report, adding that “23 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women”.

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Karnataka Elections 2018 : How Telugu vote may swing the ‘waveless’ election

About 15% of Karnataka’s population is estimated to be Telugu speaking and Telugu is the third most spoken language in Karnataka after Kannada and Urdu.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 »With less than 10 days left before the Assembly elections in Karnataka, politicians are busy slugging it out and political pundits are coming up with varied predictions on an everyday basis. Almost all opinion polls have predicted the possibility of Karnataka giving a fractured mandate and throwing up a hung assembly.

Pollsters agree that Karnataka is an extremely tough state to predict because of the different voting patterns of different regions, the caste equations, local issues etc. In the end, a swing of 1 or 2% of the votes can make all the difference.

The significance of Telugu votes

In a waveless election, where every seat is seeing cut-throat competition, a few thousand votes can decide who can emerge victorious. And in the bitter battle for Karnataka, Telugu votes will play a significant role.

Telugus are the third largest ethnic group in Karnataka. About 15% of Karnataka’s population is estimated to be Telugu speaking and Telugu is the third most spoken language in Karnataka after Kannada and Urdu.

Several districts in Karnataka share connections with Andhra Pradesh. In Raichur and Ballari, many farmers from Andhra Pradesh have taken up farming while the Hyderabad Karnataka region, which has 40 seats, has a Telangana connection.

At least 12 districts of Karnataka have a sizeable Telugu population – Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Ballari, Koppal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bidar, Bengaluru City and Bengaluru Rural. The four districts of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Kolar and Ballari have a significant share of almost 30% Telugu voters. While Bangalore Urban and Rural, have 49% and 65% Telugu-speaking population respectively, the figures for Kolar, Bellary and Raichur are 76%, 63% and 64% respectively.

Hyderabad-Karnataka districts have a historical and cultural connection with neighboring state of Telangana too.

Bengaluru, which accounts for 28 seats has about 25 lakh Telugu voters. Many businessmen, real estate agents, hotel owners, labourers and software industry professionals from Chittoor, Kurnool, Hindupur and Anantpur districts of Andhra Pradesh have settled in the Garden City. The presence of these Telugu voters is bound to influence the poll verdict.

Estimates suggest that these Telugu voters may be an influential factor in at least 40 assembly constituencies across the state. In the aftermath of the TDP exiting the NDA and Chandrababu Naidu blaming Narendra Modi for being insensitive towards the demands and needs of Telugus, it will be very interesting to see how they vote in Karnataka.

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Karnataka Elections 2018: BJP fields 83, Congress 59 candidates with criminal background

The ADR released the report after analysing the affidavits filed by 2,560 candidates, which said that 391 candidates declared criminal cases against themselves.

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 » The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is at the first spot and the Congress is at the second position in giving tickets to candidates with criminal background in the Karnataka Assembly Elections, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The ADR released the report after analysing the affidavits filed by 2,560 candidates, which said that 391 candidates declared criminal cases against themselves.

“Among major parties, 83 (37%) out of 224 candidates from BJP, 59 (27%) out of 220 candidates analysed from Indian Nataional Congress, 41 (21%) out of 199 candidates analysed from Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)], 5 (20%) out of 25 candidates analysed from Janata Dal (United) [JD (U)] , 5 (19%) out of 27 candidates analysed from Aam Aadmi Party [AAP] and 108 (10%) out of 1090 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits,” said the report.

“There are 254 (10%) candidates who have declared serious criminal cases registered against themselves, four candidates have declared case related to murder (Indian Penal Code Section-302) against themselves, and 25 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (Indian Penal Code Section-307) against themselves,” said the report, adding that “23 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women”.

Red Alert Constituency:

• The report says that Red Alert constituencies are the constituencies which have three or more candidates with declared criminal cases.
• There are 56 (25%) red alert constituencies in the Karnataka Elections 2018, said the report.

 Crorepati Candidates:

• The ADR report says that around 35 percent of the analysed candidates are crorepatis. Out of the 2560 candidates analysed, 883 are crorepatis.
• Among major parties, 208(93%) out of 224 candidates from BJP, 207 (94%) out of 220 candidates analysed from Indian National Congress, 154(77%) out of 199 candidates analysed from JD(S), 13(52%) out of 25 candidates analysed from JD(U), 9(33%) out of 27 candidates analysed from AAP and 199 (18%) out of 1090 independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.
• The average of assets per candidate contesting in the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 is Rs 7.54 crore.

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