BENGALURU:  Four students from Bengaluru, Belagavi and Vijayapura districts secured 625/625 marks in the SSLC exam. KSEAB director HN Gopalakrishna said that the overall pass percentage for the academic year 2022- 23 is 83.89. It was 85.13 last year. In all, 145 students scored full marks last academic year.

Gopalakrishna said the difficulty level of exams was reduced to 10% in 2021-22 on account of the pandemic. It was because of this, the pass percentage was high last year. 

Chitradurga top performer with 96.8%

The toppers are Bhoomika Pai, New Macaulay English High School, Bengaluru; Anupama Shrishail Hireholi, Sri Kumareshwar English Medium High School at Saundatti, Belagavi; Yashas Gowda, Shree BGS School, Belagavi; and Bhimangowda Patil, Oxford English Medium High School, Vijayapura.

“This year, the difficulty level was increased to the original level of 20 per cent (2019-2020). Due to this, the pass percentage increased by 12.09,” he said.

In all, 8.35 lakh students appeared for the examination from March 31 to April 15. Of them, seven lahks passed.

Chitradurga tops the list of highest-performing districts with a pass percentage of 96.8. Bengaluru north and south are at the bottom of the list of districts with 80.93 per cent and 78.95 per cent (32nd and 33rd), respectively. Kalaburagi ranks 28th with 84.59 per cent. Ballari, Raichur and Shivamogga rank 31st, 30th and 29th, respectively, according to a report from KSEAB.

Bengaluru Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) schools recorded a pass percentage of 67.53. There are 33 high schools under BBMP, with 2,270 students appearing for the examination. Of them, 1,533 passed.

Girls outperform boys

Yet again, girls outperformed boys in the examination. Boys recorded a pass percentage of 80.08, while girls registered 87.87. Students from rural areas recorded a total pass percentage of 87, while those from urban areas registered 79.62.

Belagavi student beats all odds

BELAGAVI:  Anupama Shrishail Hireholi, a student of Kumareshwar English Medium School at Saundatti in Belagavi district, shared the first rank with three others in the SSLC examination.

She scored 625/ 625. The results were declared on Monday. Anupama’s father Shrishail Hireholi passed away a year ago. He was working at Shri Renuka Temple at Yallamana Gudda.

Her mother Rajashri, who works at MM Joshi Eye Hospital at Saundatti, is the sole breadwinner of the family. Anupama’s brother is a Class 9 student.

“I used to study for two hours in the morning before going to school and till midnight after coming home. I am happy that my hard work paid off. I am planning to take up science at PU and prepare for the UPSC exam simultaneously. I want to serve my country as an IAS officer,” she told The New Indian Express. 

BENGALURU: Polling for the high-stakes Karnataka Assembly elections is currently underway with, over 5.3 crore eligible voters expected to exercise their rights. 

Voting for the 224-member Assembly began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Security has beefed up at sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas to ensure fair and peaceful polling.

A voter turnout of 8.26 per cent was recorded in the first two hours of polling, according to Election Commission data.

The highest percentage was in the coastal district of Udupi (13.28 per cent) and the lowest in Chamarajanagar district (5.75 per cent) till 9 am.

Designated photo spots have been set up in various polling stations where voters posed with their inked fingers upon casting their vote.

Karnataka is voting to elect a new government, with the incumbent BJP facing the challenge from the Congress. The Janata Dal (Secular) is the third main player in the contest.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to vote in large numbers and enrich the festival of democracy. Modi tweeted, “Urging the people of Karnataka, particularly young and first-time voters to vote in large numbers and enrich the festival of democracy.”

A large number of people are seen in polling stations across the state. Many people including celebrities are seen as early voters. There have also been technical glitches in Ballari and seizures in Chitradurga.

The weather forecast has predicted rains over many parts of Karnataka on Wednesday, with the Election Commission officials appealing to people to vote early. 

It can be noted in 2018, the state Assembly polls recorded a voter turnout of 72.13 per cent, the highest in Karnataka since 1952. The election commission is hoping to break this previous record.

In the last 45 days, the state witnessed a hectic campaign from all the party leaders. 

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was among the early voters and even offered Pooja at an Anjaneya temple in Shiggavi. Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and his wife and Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy were among those to cast their votes in Bengaluru this morning.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman, who is also a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, cast her vote in Jayanagar. When asked about low voter turnout in most of the polls in Bengaluru, she said, “From the number I’ve seen, I see Bengaluru is coming to vote. I hope the number will increase further in the day.”

Some of the early voters include ministers Araga Jnanendra in Shivamogga’s Theerthahalli and Byrathi Basavaraju in Bengaluru’s KR Puram among others. This year, the election commission has introduced vote from home for senior citizens who are 80 years and above, however many senior citizens of that age were seen in the polling stations to cast their votes.

Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa along with his family members and sons BJP MP BY Raghavendra and BY Vijayendra — who is contesting from the Shikaripura constituency in Shivamogga — cast their votes.

Meanwhile, cash and freebies were seized across a few areas on polling day owing to a violation of the model code of conduct. A joint raid was conducted by EC, IT, Police and Excise officials at the residence of Chitradurga Janatha Dal (Secular) Candidate Raghu Acharc included cash of  Rs 58.83 lakh in cash, 239 litres of beer and 9 litres of other liquor.

Incidents of polling being delayed due to technical glitches were also reported.  Over half an hour of the voting process stopped in Sanganakallu village in Ballari district after a technical error was found in EVMs. The voting resumed after officials sorted the issue.

BENGALURU: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to launch his blitzkrieg rallies ahead of the May 10 polls, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda in an exclusive interaction with The New Indian Express said Modi’s rallies will have more impact on the Lok Sabha polls than on Assembly polls, which are fought on local issues. Excerpts:

There is nothing special in my campaigning. I have told them (the party leaders) to line up three programmes a day. I will campaign in around 40 constituencies… I have been fighting for the last 60 years. Kumaraswamy has continued it more effectively with his programmes. Despite undergoing heart operations twice, he is working hard.

Farm loan waiver, old age pension, and many more measures were taken by him. Even his enemies will admit that he is a politician who keeps his word.

Take a look at the results of the last (2018) Assembly elections. We won three seats each in Vijayapura and Raichur, two in Bidar, and one in Yadgir district. We won nine seats in that region. This time, we will win more in that region. Some friends, not all, want to brand it as just an Old Mysuru party. The facts are different.

What do they have to say about  Yediyurappa’s son backing out from a contest in Varuna  (from where Congress leader Siddaramaiah is contesting)? What is the reaction of the BJP high command? What does that indicate? They have their own internal understandings.

 
It is difficult. BJP won 303 seats, this time it is difficult for them. But it is possible for them to form a government with the help of others. Even that is not possible for Congress. Look at Rajasthan, they are fighting. Also, other parties will not accept Congress’ leadership.

He will address the rallies in around 40 to 50 places. Its effect will be more on the Parliament elections. This (Assembly poll) is a regional issue. His speeches will have more impact during the Parliament elections, but it is difficult during assembly elections, it is all about local issues.

After he took over as the AICC president, Mallikarjun Kharge seems to be making efforts and meeting leaders from different parties …
Each one is saying something different. One is talking about Adani and one is talking about something else. There is no meaning to it.

We are fighting to save the party. This is a farmers’ party and as a son of a farmer, I am making all possible efforts in that direction. JDS has earned the confidence of farmers and poor people. We have always been committed to social justice. People have not forgotten that.

I had implemented it, but the BJP scrapped it. They should not have done it. It is wrong. I have taken a stand that we will restore it.

Honestly, I don’t think that is going to happen. JDS will get a simple majority.

Despite having a strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jan Sangh background, former chief minister Jagadish Shettar quit the BJP after a three-decade-long association with it to join Congress on April 16. His decision to quit BJP came after the latter denied him a ticket to contest from his Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency.

Now with the Congress, Shettar says his secular image and thoughts would make it easy for him to adapt with the Congress party’s ideology. In an exclusive interview with The New Indian Express, Shettar, who is now contesting on a Congress ticket from the same HD Central constituency, speaks of his ties with the RSS, and that although he may not attend programmes of the Sangh, his relationship with its leaders will continue.

Systematic efforts were there in the party to neglect me for the last several months. I was not even allowed to speak at the state executive meetings held every quarter. I wanted to raise the issue at the core committee meeting, but it is not being held regularly. When (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah was party president he used to ask the core committee to meet every month, but now they are being held once in three-four months. So I was unable to express my grievances. It was not taken seriously whenever I raised burning issues related to the party and the government.

The state leaders were not interested in exploiting my experience, and even the state in-charge Arun Singh never discussed party affairs with me. So I started feeling suffocated. In the meantime, a whisper campaign was started against me by Mahesh Tenginkai, who is now contesting from the Hubballi Dharwad Central segment and who is a close associate of BJP generation secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh. I also brought it to the notice of the party leaders, but they were unresponsive. Later, I became impatient as everybody took me for granted.

I wanted to tell it in the party forum. If I had gone directly to them, perceptions would have been built saying Shettar always come with complaints. Despite that, once I did try to inform Amit Shah about it. I also got an appointment to meet him and informed him that the party position is not good in Karnataka and that there were some problems with the government, too. But I was unable to speak everything as some other leaders were there. I again requested Shah for a personal meeting, and he did agree to it on some later day, but that day never arrived.

It is another kind of a whisper campaign. The Sangh has never been involved in political activities. I came to know that some ticket aspirants went to seek the blessings of some RSS leaders, and the latter had clarified that the question of Shettar not contesting the elections would not arise.

I was shocked when State Election In-charge Dharmendra Pradhan telephoned me to inform me that I would be denied the ticket. Is it the way to treat people who built and served the party for over three decades? I expressed my rejection of the party’s decision on his face, and said, ‘Do whatever you want, I will contest the election.’ Later national president JP Nadda called, and I gave him the same reply, and requested him to reconsider. Later, the party started negotiations and offered that somebody from my family would contest, and promised to make me a Rajya Sabha member. I clearly informed them that I don’t want to bring any of my family members into politics, and that I am also not interested in becoming an MP.

While the negotiations were happening, I informed Union Minister Pralahd Joshi that I would wait till April 14 and then take a decision. I had clearly informed them about a respectable exit and requested to be allowed to remain an MLA for six months. As the party was unable to respond, I took a clear stand on quitting BJP. If the central leadership had invited me a week or ten days earlier and informed me about its decision, I would have made up my mind. This all-of-a-sudden decision pained and disturbed me, and I decided to rebel against the party, whatever the consequences.

As I was thinking of alternatives, the Congress party sent feelers for talks. Initially, I did think of contesting as an independent, but later realised that since the BJP has a government at the Centre and in the state, they could have hammered me, my followers and workers. Moreover, the whole responsibility would be on me alone. So I chose a national party so that they (the BJP) could be confronted with a greater force. Also, I have no funds to launch a party like Janardhan Reddy or Yediyurappa did.

My secular image and thoughts will make it easy for me to get adapted with the Congress party ideology, My thinking is maintaining harmony among communities and doing good for everybody, which is the same as the Grand Old Party. When I was the opposition leader and minister, I worked with leaders of all parties, and none spoke negatively about me then. So I will get adjusted to any system.

My intention is to strive for the public good. I will not be party to what other leaders of the party say or criticise. It is not necessary to criticise the RSS day in day out if I am in the Congress party. If there is any such issue, I will speak then. I don’t want to create controversies by speaking on non-issues.

I may not attend the programmes of the Sangh, but my personal relationship with its leaders will continue. But I cannot say whether the relationship will continue or not. I don’t want to drag the RSS into my politics.

I don’t want to comment on the national leaders and affairs of the national BJP. As far as Modi and Shah are concerned, they have built the party. Why should I say anything about them? As far as Karnataka is concerned, (BJP) leaders here are taking advantage of Modi.

BENGALURU: A day after actor ‘Kiccha’ Sudeep announced that he would campaign for BJP, as suggested by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in the May 10 Assembly elections in the state, Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) has written to the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka seeking a ban on telecast of movies, advertisements and other programmes featuring the actor.

Pradeep Kumar, spokesperson and general secretary of the state legal cell of JDS, filed a petition with the CEC on Thursday stating that telecast of Sudeep’s movies, advertisements, and TV programmes should be banned till the election process is completed.

Kumar stated that telecast of the actor’s movies or programmes may influence the voters and hence, orders should be issued to ban the same. He also appealed to the CEC to direct the authorities concerned to remove the posters having the actor’s photo from public places.

On Wednesday, Sudeep addressed a press conference with Bommai and announced that he would be campaigning for BJP in the Assembly elections. 

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 41 candidates for the next-month Karnataka assembly elections and also marked a seat for the regional outfit Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.

The elections to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13. With the second list of candidates in 42 constituencies (including in Melukote), the party has so far announced the candidates for 166 out of total 224 seats. The party has to now finalise the list for the remaining 58 seats.

The candidates were finalised at a meeting of the Central Election Committee headed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and top party leaders from Karnataka, including former chief minister Siddaramaiah, state chief DK Shivakumar and All India Congress Committee in-charge for the state, Randeep Surjewala, were present at the meeting.

The Congress is seeking to wrest power from the BJP in Karnataka, the only southern state where the saffron party is in power.

There is no mention of Kolar, the second seat from where senior party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, wants to contest, in addition to Varuna, where his name is already cleared.

Baburao Chinchansur and N Y Gopalakrishna, who had quit as BJP MLC and MLA recently and joined Congress have been fielded Gurmitkal and Molakalmuru, respectively. Gopalakrishna was BJP’s MLA from Kudligi in Vijayanagara district in the current Assembly.

While S R Srinivas (Vasu), who had quit as JD(S) MLA has been fielded as a candidate from Gubbi.

Congress has left the Melukote seat in Mandya district for Darshan Puttannaiah of Sarvodaya Karnataka Party. His father late Puttannaiah was a prominent farmer leader and had earlier represented the constituency.

Former Minister Vinay Kulkarni, who was expected in some quarters to take on Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from Shiggaon in Haveri district, has been given ticket to contest from Dharwad.

Kulkarni has been barred from entering Dharwad district by court in connection with the murder of zilla panchayat member Yogeeshgouda Goudar.

Former Chief Minister Dharam Singh’s son, Vijay Dharam Singh, has got a ticket from Basavakalyan. His brother, a sitting MLA and Opposition’s chief whip Ajay Dharam Singh in the current Assembly, had got the ticket from Jewargi in the first list.

Bheemasen B Chimmannakatti has been given the ticket from Badami, which was represented by Siddaramaiah. He is the son of Balappa Bhimappa Chimmankatti, who had vacated the seat for the former CM in 2018 Assembly polls.

Siddhegowda will contest from Chamundeshwari, the other seat from where Siddaramaiah had lost in the 2018 elections.

Former Ministers Santosh Lad, Anjaneya H, Kimmane Rathnakar and R B Thimmapur are contesting from Kalghatgi, Holalkere, Tirthahalli and Mudhol respectively.

It was widely expected that the Kadur seat would go to senior politician YSV Datta, who had switched to Congress from JD(S) recently, but the ticket has been given to Anand K.S. Datta was considered to be one of the close confidants of former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda.

According to Congress sources, among the second list of 42 candidates, 11 are Lingayats (including one Reddy Lingayat), Vokkaligas 11 (including Darshan Puttannaiah), Kuruba 3, Muslims 3, SC 4, ST 2.

BENGALURU: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar called on All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge at the latter’s residence here on Saturday. The meeting of the top leaders assumes significance as the Congress is likely to release its second list of candidates for the May 10 Assembly elections soon. According to informed sources, the duo discussed the possible rebellion that may arise due to factionalism in the party and the strategy to quell it.

“Met AICC President Manya  @Kharge at his residence today. Many issues were discussed in the wake of the  Karnataka assembly elections,” Shivakumar tweeted after the 25-minute meeting. The duo also discussed whether to release the second list before Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kolar on April 9 to attend the Jai Bharat rally. The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress will sit again under the chairmanship of Kharge on April 5 to finalise the candidates for the remaining 100 seats. Sources said the list is expected to be announced either on April 6 or 7.

The Congress recently released the names of 124 candidates and did not face any backlash. Of the remaining 100 seats, the party has finalised candidates for about 35 seats where there was just one aspirant. “But there is a problem in constituencies where there are multiple candidates,” an informed source told TNSE.

For instance, there is a competition between Santhosh Lad and Nagaraj Chebbi belonging to Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar factions, respectively, in Kalghatgi. Similarly, there is opposition from a section of Congress leaders to field  Shivakumar’s supporter Ashok Rai in Puttur. 

BENGALURU:  Former Bengaluru deputy mayor BS Puttaraju, who was not given the Congress ticket from Rajajinagar, has threatened to turn rebel. Puttaraju, a Lingayat, held a meeting at the Ram Mandir grounds on Monday, attended by about a thousand of his supporters, and apprised them of the situation. 

Puttaraju was among the few names suggested by the Veerashaiva Mahasabha when Mahasabha president Shamanur Sivashankarappa met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss candidates for assembly tickets. The Mahasabha informed Kharge that of about 100 seats in the south of the state, the community was seeking 10 seats. Mahasabha secretary Renuka Prasanna said they have sought 10 seats, “but even if six or seven seats are given, it is fine”. 

Puttaraju told TNIE, “Lingayats are supporting the Congress in a much bigger way this time. There are 15 lakh Lingayats in Bengaluru City, Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara areas, but we have not got a single ticket. By contrast, Vokkaligas, who number 25 per cent, have got 18 seats. Brahmins have got three seats, though their numbers are negligible.’’ Lingayats account for 17-18% of the state population. 

While Lingayats are happy that they have been given seats in Chikkanayakanhalli, Tiptur and Gundlupet, they are also seeking tickets from Chikkamagaluru, Kadur-Tarikere, Chitradurga and Belur in Hassan, which are yet to be considered. Community leaders are also seeking Chickpet for former mayor Gangambike, as the area has a large number of Lingayats. 

Their argument is that only if Lingayats are better represented by way of tickets, will the community give 
more support to the Congress. In addition to the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, various pontiffs have spoken to Kharge, CLP leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, urging for greater representation. Whether the Congress recognises the Lingayats’ legitimate claim for more seats and reaps a harvest of votes remains to be seen. 

BIDAR/BENGALURU: Defending the Karnataka government’s decision to withdraw a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category recently and distributing it among Lingayats and Vokkaligas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Constitution has no provision to provide reservation to any particular religion.

Congress leaders termed it an attempt to create hatred among communities. Hitting out at them, Shah appreciated the Basavaraj Bommai government’s decision to use that 4 per cent reservation to increase the quota for Lingayats and Vokkaligas by 2 per cent each.

In a major decision on Friday, the Karnataka cabinet scrapped the 4 per cent OBC quota for Muslims under 2B category and moved them to the Economically Weaker Section. The freed-up quota was used to increase the reservation for Vokkaligas from 4 per cent to 6 per cent and for Lingayats from 5 per cent to 7 per cent.

Shah, who was speaking after unveiling a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Martyrs’ Memorial at Gorta village in Bidar district, alleged that the previous Congress government had provided the 4 per cent quota to appease the minorities.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar wondered whether Lingayats and Vokkaligas had asked the government to take away the minority reservation to give it to them. “The existing 56 per cent cap on reservation should have been expanded to increase the reservation for the two communities. Lingayats had asked for a 15 per cent quota and Vokkaligas 12 per cent,” he said.

He alleged that the BJP government threatened Vokkaliga community’s religious head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji and Panchamasali Lingayat seer Sri Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji to accept the 2 per cent hike each in reservation. “They are not beggars to accept it as it has been robbed from another community. Why is the BJP government trying to sow hatred between communities by scrapping the Muslims OBC quota? Are minorities not our people,” he asked. 

BENGALURU:  KPCC president DK Shivakumar (Kanakapura), former minister H C Mahadevappa (T Narasipura), former DCM G Parameshwara (Koratagere) and former minister TB Jayachandra (Sira) will contest the assembly elections from their respective constituencies.

In a surprise move, the Congress has declared Anup Iyengar, a political novice, as its candidate for Malleswaram and he will take on IT/BT Minister C N Ashwathnarayan of the BJP. Puttanna, who resigned as BJP MLC, has been given the Rajajinagar seat, currently held by BJP veteran S Suresh Kumar. Pulakeshinagar has been kept open as there was opposition from the minority community to the candidature of   MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy.

D Sudhakar has been cleared for Hiriyuru in Chitradurga district instead of BJP MLA Poornima Srinivas, daughter of former Congress minister late A Krishnappa, who switched loyalty to Congress.

Chikkaballapur BJP MP B N Bachegowda’s son and independent MLA Sharath Bachegowda has been given Hoskote seat, putting an end to speculation of minister MTB Nagaraj’s retreat to Congress.

Candidates for Yeshwanthpur and KR Pete have not been announced as Congress is still expecting ministers ST Somashekar and Narayanagowda to join the party at the last minute.

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘Man Friday’ and MLC UB Venkatesh (Basavanagudi), former minister AK Subbaiah’s son AS Ponnanna (Virajpet), Leader of Opposition in the Council BK Hariprasad’s nephew Rakshith Shivaram (Belthangady), former CM BS Yediyurappa’s aides UB Banakar (Hirekerur) and RSS man KS Kirankumar (Chikkanayakanahalli) have made it to the list. Eight Muslims figure in the list, including Iqbal Hussain HA (Ramanagara), Tanveer Sait (Narasimharaja), UT Khader (Mangaluru), and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan (Chamrajpet).