Archives for 2018

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will return to power with Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister if Lok Sabha elections are held today, according to a survey conducted by ABP News-C Voter. The survey results broadcast on ABP news channel predicted 276 seats for the NDA and a vote share of 38 per cent. Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will win 112 seats and a vote share of 25 per cent, while Others may bag as many as 155 seats with a vote share of 37 per cent, the survey predicted.

The C-Voter survey, which seeks to reflect the mood of the public before the Lok Sabha elections 2019, has made a few predictions estimating big wins for UPA in Punjab and the southern states.

While the NDA will gain seats in Odisha and Haryana, the BJP-led alliance may make a sweeping victory in the northeastern states, the survey said. Also, the saffron party may end up winning all the seats in Delhi. The NDA is predicted to retain its hold in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

In Uttar Pradesh, if the UPA forms a mahagatbandhan then it is estimated to win more than half the seats. But without the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, the Congress party could be the biggest loser.

For its prediction in Bihar, the ABP-CVoter estimated a close call if the Congress party forms a mahagathbandhan, and if the NDA alliance stays then it will win the maximum number of seats.

It’s advantage BJP in Maharashtra, as even if their alliance with Shiv Sena is broken the NDA is still expected to win majority of seats. The key for UPA, however, could be the alliance between the NCP and Congress and a split in BJP-Shiv Sena alliance.

PTI

CM HD Kumaraswamy, Bengaluru Development Minister G Parameshwara and other political leaders participated in the inaugral function of foot-over bridge connecting the metro station with the bus terminuses of BMTC, KSRTC at the Nadaprabhu Hiriya Kempegowda Metro Station in Majestic.

As per the urban mobility experts, the footbridge will improve ridership in the metro and bus, while reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

Another footover bridge connecting the Majestic metro station with the 10th platform of the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Majestic Railway Station is in its final stages of construction.

PTI

Will existing ministers be dropped and replaced with new ones during the Cabinet expansion likely to take place on October 10 or 12? Speculation is rife in the Congress that three ministers will likely be axed, making way for senior leaders to fill the posts during the Cabinet expansion.

Several disgruntled leaders of the Congress, who were sidelined and not given the plum ministerial berths they expected, are now lobbying for dropping newcomers from the Cabinet. However, controllers of the Congress in Karnataka are not too keen on axing any existing minister fearing severe backlash and another round of dissent in a party which is riddled with bickering leaders. However, it was Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy who announced the expansion could happen either on October 10 or 12.

“Leaders like MB Patil and MTB Nagaraju are really unhappy that R Shankar, who they consider a nobody bagged the Environment and Forest portfolio. Some leaders want R Shankar to be dropped and instead be given the chairmanship of a board. But Parameshwara and Dinesh Gundu Rao are not keen on dropping anyone and are saying no to the lobbyists. In fact, they are mulling over whether a Cabinet expansion should take place before the Lok Sabha polls,” a Congress source said.

Babaleshwar MLA, Siddaramaiah loyalist and former Water Resource Minister MB Patil, Bhadravati MLA BK Sangamesh, Sandur MLA Tukaram, Kundgol MLA CS Shivalli, Hirekerur BC Patil, Hosakote MLA MTB Nagaraju, BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy, Yeshwanthpur MLA ST Somashekar and Vijayanagar MLA M Krishnappa are lobbying for ministerial berths.

“All of Siddaramaiah’s supporters in the party, some of them heavyweights, were not given ministerial posts. It was shocking because for these leaders it was inconceivable that they did not get even a single portfolio. MTB Nagaraju, who funded most of the election campaigning in the south, was extremely unhappy because he was sidelined during several Cabinet reshuffles in Siddaramaiah’s time and this time too he was benched. It is very likely that he will be given a ministerial berth,” a Congress source said.

Congress insiders indicated that MLA CS Shivalli is keen on Minister R Shankar’s removal, while JD(S) leader and Primary Education Minister N Mahesh wants Congress leader and Minister for the Department of Backward Classes and Welfare Puttarangashetty to be dropped.

Under the power-sharing arrangement, Congress is to have 22 ministers and the JD(S) 12. Congress has six vacant ministerial positions, while JD(S) has one.

“Since there are so many MLAs and only six vacant ministerial posts, these MLAs will be appointed as heads of boards and companies run by the government. Congress will get to appoint 20 people and we will have to decide who gets what. Dinesh Gundu Rao is set to meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Saturday to discuss whether an expansion is good and if so, who should be given the berths,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the Congress and JD(S) have reached an agreement to field candidates for the Ramanagara and Jamkhandi bye-polls. The JD(S) has decided to field Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita Kumaraswamy, while the Congress had decided to field Anand Nyamagouda, son of deceased Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda Patil.

The Congress is planning to bank on sympathy votes in Jamkhandi as local strongman Siddu Nyamagouda had died in an accident in may this year, a few days after the elections results were announced.

The bye-polls are being held in Ramanagara as Kumaraswamy had contested and won both Ramanagara and Channapattana seats. He has decided to give up his seat in Ramanagara to make way for his wife Anita.

After delimitation in 2008, Ramanagara was reduced to four assembly constituencies – Ramanagara, Kanakpura, Magadi and Channapattana.

The Ramanagara Assembly constituency is a bastion of the JD(S). Ever since party President HD Kumaraswamy contested polls in 2004 from this area, the seat has never been lost to another party. JD(S) insiders say that since Ramanagara is a district dominated by the Vokkaliga and the Muslim community, it has always been difficult for the BJP to make inroads here.

“The only prominent Vokkaliga leader in BJP is R Ashoka and he too does not have that much clout here because he belongs to a section of the Vokkaliga community which is not politically active. It has always been easy for the JD(S) to win here,” a JD(S) leader said.

In 2008, Anita Kumaraswamy made her political debut and won the Madhugiri assembly bye-elections. She contested through a JD(S) ticket from Channapattana in the 2013 assembly elections and lost to strongman CP Yogeshwar. She also lost in the 2014 Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha elections against DK Suresh, brother of Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar.

Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to field its district President M Rudresh in Ramanagara. The party is, however, yet to announce its candidates.

PTI

The former Deputy General of Police (DGP) C Dinakar passed away on Wednesday at Manipal Hospital. According to police officials, the retired DGP had slipped and fallen inside his bathroom five days ago. Police received information about the same and broke open the bathroom door and rushed him to Manipal hospital in Bengaluru.

He suffered multiple injuries and had also sustained a fracture in one of his legs. Officials also said that “age was the factor going against him.” He was undergoing treatment at the hospital and failed to recover. He succumbed to his injuries and passed away on Wednesday night around 10.45 pm.

He was well known for the role he played in tackling underworld criminal activities in Bengaluru. The former DGP played a crucial role in the Special Task Force which was formed to rescue Rajkumar from Veerappan who had held the former hostage for 108 days.

In 2014, a defamation case against Dinakar, lodged by Siddhartha, son-in-law of former External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, was dismissed by a division of the Delhi High Court. The issue was surrounding Dinakar’s book chronicling the capture of late actor Rajkumar by Veerappan. Siddhartha, owner of the Coffee Day group of hotels, alleged that parts of the book titled ‘Veerappan’s Prize Catch: Rajkumar,’ were defamatory in nature against him.

Prior to this, in 2003 the DGP was caught in another scuffle when he claimed that then Chief Minister SM Krishna and then state Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge were conspiring to target his credibility.

PTI

D K Shivakumar hosted a breakfast meeting for Congress ministers at his residence here this morning.
Reportedly, this is the third meeting organised by the Congress leaders.

Earlier similar breakfast meetings were organised by former CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara.

All the congress ministers participated in the event except Municipalities Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mines and Geology Minister Rajashekar Patil

Ramesh, who was upset with Shivakumar’s interference in Belagavi politics had threatened to raise a banner of revolt recently. The party had however eventually pacified him.

PTI

The BJP on Thursday alleged that the Congress, which failed to forge a mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) in the country, was appearing to form an international alliance with the break India forces of which ‘Pakistan’ is an important component.

The BJP also hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of allegedly receiving funds from anti-India forces and accused it of compromising the national security.

“A few political parties in the country are trying to form an international mahagathbandhan with the anti-India forces to break the country of which Pakistan is an important component,” BJP leader Sambit Patra told media at a press conference here.

He said that there seems to be a mahagatbandhan of break India forces, of which Congress is also included. “They are unable to form a mahagatbandhan at home and they are forming a mahagatbandhan at international platform with break India forces,” he alleged.

The BJP leader said: “We have seen how Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu hugged the Pakistan Army Chief. There are many people in Pakistan who want to see Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister.”

Citing other references, the BJP leader said, “When (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj spoke about Pakistan at the United Nations (UN), then Congress instead of supporting it objected to it.”

The BJP leader said there has been a sting operation by an English channel Republic TV about the leaders dealing with the Khalistan Front forces. “These are anti-India forces and these anti-India forces have a political pattern.

“And these forces have been regrouping and they have become quiet active,” he said, adding that Shamsher Singh who heads the National Sikhs Youth Federation, Gurcharan Singh of the Dal Khalsa and Paramjit Pamma, who was a terrorist and was arrested in Poland.

Patra said that in the sting operation Shamsher Singh can be heard saying that the Khalistan movement which they are running in London is a “secessionist movement to break India”.

“In the video Shamsher is heard saying that ‘we want India to break up, we want naxals to be free, we want a dravidsitan to be created. We shall help them as our enemy is same. Our enemy is New Delhi’,” Patra said.

The BJP leader said that Shamsher also said that “Pakistan is an ally and it has not done any genocides against Sikhs. “Pakistan recognises Khalistan as a legitimate nation, it is a natural ally,” he said.

He said that in the video Paramjit Singh Pamma also claimed that in India minorities are not being treated properly.

“This is what Rahul Gandhi is doing. He is going to international forums and saying that there is no freedom in India, there is no peace, no employment, minorities not being treated properly. But in China there is everything,” he pointed out referring to Gandhi’s recent visit to the European countries where he interacted with people and attacked the government over several issues.

Attacking Kejriwal and AAP, Patra said, in the sting operation Gurcharan Singh exposes their nexus.

He alleged that Kejriwal for his “political ambitions” was playing with national security which is “unpardonable.”

IANS