Supporters of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar gathered to discuss strategies for his elevation to the Chief Minister post in Karnataka, intensifying the power struggle within the ruling Congress party.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost his cool and shouted at Youth Congress workers who raised slogans in favor of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar during a protest rally. The incident highlights the ongoing power dynamics within the Karnataka Congress.
The Congress party in Karnataka is demanding action against a District Commissioner for holding a saffron flag during a religious procession. The DC claims she was performing her official duties and denies any political motivation.
The speculation has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of the government's formation in 2023.
BJP leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy alleges 'horse-trading' within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, claiming MLAs are being offered bribes. He also accuses AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala of demanding money from ministerial aspirants and plans to write to the Enforcement Directorate.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed the Congress government in Karnataka over the deaths in a stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru celebrations in Bengaluru, demanding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara take responsibility for the incident.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress top leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday condoled the Bengaluru stampede deaths and the Bharatiya Janata Party asked the Congress government to own up responsibility for what it called the 'state-sponsored negligence'.
The BJP has vehemently criticized the Karnataka government's decision to provide four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts, labeling it an "unconstitutional misadventure." The party has pledged to challenge the move in court and has vowed to oppose it at all levels. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party has defended the reservation, arguing that it aligns with constitutional provisions. The issue has led to heated exchanges in the Karnataka Assembly, with both parties accusing each other of engaging in appeasement politics.
Despite the Congress high command's directive to avoid discussing the 'next chief minister', supporters of both Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi continue to publicly push for their respective leaders to take the top spot. This comes amidst reports of a pact that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would lead the state for the first two and a half years and Shivakumar would take over for the rest of the term.
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
Several BJP and JD-S leaders joining the Congress ahead of the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka is an evidence to prove that public sentiment is in favour of the party and it will come to power, its state unit President D K Shivakumar said on Monday.
Amidst alleged power struggles within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala has called for discipline within the party, emphasizing that the party is paramount. This comes as the state's chief minister and deputy chief minister submitted a consolidated report on the performance of 31 ministers to Surjewala, fueling speculation about a potential cabinet reshuffle.
Mounting a fresh attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday alleged that for the sake of vote bank politics, it has nurtured, given shelter and surrendered before terror.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna passed away at his residence in Bengaluru early Tuesday morning, his family said.
Kharge's remarks came after Modi on Friday said the Congress stands "badly exposed" in front of people for promising to them what the party knows it will never be able to deliver.
According to a statement issued by the chief minister's office, the meeting will be held in Vidhana Souda conference Hall.
A Congress source termed the process of drafting and presenting of the Bill before the state cabinet on Monday as a "unilateral" effort by the chief minister's office and ministers that are close to him.
Leading the campaign in Bengaluru, MLA and former minister V Sunil Kumar staged a sit-in demonstration near the Sadashivanagar police station, amid chants of "Jai Sri Ram" by BJP workers.
Five candidates were in the fray for the four seats in the elections, including Janata Dal-Secular contestant D Kupendra Reddy.
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.
Singh has questioned the reliability of the EVMs on more than one occasion following the Congress' defeat in the recent assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on the same page as the poll strategist.
Ex-prime minister H D Deve Gowda's Janata Dal-Secular likely to play the kingmaker if no party gets the majority.
The ruling Congress posted a video along with a statement on social media platform X, criticising the Janata Dal-Secular leader and son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
In order to pacify the dissidents, the party's central leadership had to replace Bandi Sanjay Kumar with Union Minister G Kishan Reddy as state president of the BJP.
Addressing a huge rally in Maharashtra's Nagpur on the occasion of the Congress' 139th foundation day, he said unemployment in the country has reached its highest point in the last 40 years.
The three seats fell vacant following the resignations of Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar and Laxman Savadi to contest the assembly elections.
Headed by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, the JD-S has long been a strong third player in the southern state where the Congress and the BJP have been the two main parties.
Along with the 'CryPM' QR code, the party also put out a 'PayCM' QR code poster too, with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's image in the middle.
"We will do anything to keep the BJP out of power...In the interest of Karnataka, my father should become the chief minister," Yathindra Siddaramaiah said.
The electoral battle is far from over, but Congress leaders in Karnataka are already fighting amongst themselves over the issue of chief ministership. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Raut said that the victory of the Congress in Karnataka has opened a door for the party in the whole country and the election results show that dictatorship has been defeated.
Uday K M, also known as 'Kadalur Uday Gowda, was welcomed into the party fold in the presence of state Congress president DK Shivakumar.
Over 100,000 members have joined the party's state unit, says Praveen Bose
The real risk is that the core assumption -- that the votes for a candidate sponsored by an alliance will at least equal the sum total of its parts -- proves to be facile, observes T N Ninan.
Chinchansur, a prominent leader of the Koli-Kabbaliga community in the Kalyana Karnataka region, resigned from his post of Member of the Legislative Council on Monday.
To keep the flames under check, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the supply of Nandini ghee to make Tirupati laddus was suspended one-and-half years ago, during the BJP government's tenure.
Call it the art of staying rooted yet bending with prevailing political winds. With Telangana going to the polls in December, and assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra and Odisha scheduled next year, what factors have influenced parties' recent moves?
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hailed the party's performance in the Karnataka assembly polls as the victory of politics that unites the country.
'Gruha Lakshmi Yojana' is an attempt of the Congress party to share the 'burden of the exorbitant' LPG prices and the 'costly daily expenses' that a woman has to bear, the party said.
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