Karnataka Congress announces first list of candidates for bye-elections

Politics

The bye-elections are slated to be held on December 5 in 15 Assembly constituencies.

Theja Ram

The All India Congress Committee on Thursday announced the names of candidates for eight of the 15 Assembly constituencies, where the bye-elections are slated to be held on December 5. The party has carefully selected both veteran and new leaders to contest polls in several crucial segments. The bye-elections were necessitated after 13 of its legislators rebelled and resigned in July this year. This led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition. The Congress has been faced with the task of selecting worthy candidates as the rebel leaders are likely to be offered tickets to contest the bye-elections by the BJP. Here is the list of eight candidates: Yellapur: Bhimanna Naik Bhimanna Naik is the incumbent Uttara Kannada District Congress Committee President. Bhimanna Naik was chosen over another major contender Prashant Deshpande, former Revenue Minister RV Deshpande’s son. Congress insiders say that the high command wanted to show its appreciation for “loyal party workers” by choosing him over Prashant. Bhimanna Naik had contested the 2018 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket from the Sirsi segment and had lost to Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, the incumbent Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Hirekerur: BH Bhannikod A veteran Congress leader, BH Bhannikod has been elected from the Hirekerur segment twice before. He first contested elections in 1989 from this constituency on a Janata Dal ticket and won the elections. He lost in 1994 and in 1999, he quit the Dal and contested as an independent and won. He contested once more in 2013 as an independent and won the elections. In the years 2004, 2008 and 2018 he lost to the then Congress BC Patil, one of the disqualified MLAs who rebelled. Ranebennur: KB Koliwad A four-time MLA from Ranebennur and a veteran leader in Karnataka state politics, KB Koliwad, who has held crucial governmental positions, is a Congress veteran. He, however, lost to Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha (KPJP) candidate R Shankar alias Pendulum Shankar in 2018 by a very slim margin. KB Koliwad was the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly in 2013. Prior to that, he served as the Minister of State for Drinking Water Supply in the SM Krishna cabinet. He has been elected as the MLA from Ranebennur in the 1985, 1989, 1999 and 2013 elections. Chikkaballapur: M Anjanappa A controversial candidate, the Chikkaballapura District Congress Committee President M Anjanappa has finally bagged the ticket to contest against his archrival Dr K Sudhakar. In 2013, M Anjanappa, a loyal Congress member, was unhappy when the high command decided to offer the Chikkaballapura ticket to Dr Sudhakar. At the time, M Anjanappa had also camped in New Delhi and had openly expressed his dissatisfaction over being sidelined. Despite his attempts to bag the ticket, Dr Sudhakar was chosen to contest as he was close to former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. KR Puram: M Narayanaswamy The former KR Puram block Congress President and former aide of disqualified Congress MLA Byrathi Basavaraj, M Narayanaswamy has been chosen to contest against heavyweight and rebel Byrathi Basavaraj. M Narayanaswamy was appointed as the Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) on the recommendation of Byrathi Basavaraj, who was his former mentor. M Narayanaswamy is also a close associate of Congress leader DK Shivakumar and organised his arrival bash in Bengaluru on Saturday.  Mahalakshmi Layout: M Shivaraj M Shivaraj is currently the BBMP corporator from the Shankaramata ward in Mahalaksmi Layout. Congress sources say that the party is showcasing Shivaraj as its fresh face as he has not been mired in controversies unlike other corporators in the constituency. M Shivaraj is also a close associate of former Home Minister and Congress veteran Ramalinga Reddy. Hoskote: Padmavati Suresh The wife of Hebbal MLA Byrathi Suresh, Padmavati Suresh has been chosen as the candidate to contest in Hoskote. Padmavati is the sister-in-law of Congress rebel and disqualified MLA Byrathi Basavaraj. Since September this year, Padmavati began campaigning for the Congress in Hoskote and soon it began making statement against heavyweight MTB Nagaraju, another Congress rebel. Nagaraju was a very close associate of Siddaramaiah and his betrayal has led the former CM to throw his weight behind Padmavati. Siddaramaiah has also paid numerous visits to Hoskote and repeatedly called Nagaraju a betrayer. By pitting his close associate – Byrathi Suresh’s wife, who is also from the Kuruba community, Siddaramaiah aims to defeat his former loyalist. Hunsur: HP Manjunath The Congress’ choice of candidate from Hunsur is unsurprising. HP Manjunath had contested on a Congress ticket from this segment in 2013 and had won. However, due to anti-incumbency, he had lost to JD(S) candidate AH Vishwanath in the 2018 elections. Vishwanath had defected from the Congress to JD(S) in 2017 after a fallout with Siddaramaiah. Vishwanath, who expected a ministerial berth, was ignored by the JD(S) top brass. He led the rebellion against the coalition government and has on multiple occasions criticised former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Vishwanath is likely to contest from a BJP ticket in the bye-elections. 

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Mangaluru roads get facelift, but only along VP Venkaiah Naidu's proposed travel route

Civic Issues

Residents have been complaining about the poor state of roads and alleged apathy of officials in fixing them for weeks now.

TNM Staff

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A visit by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu to the port city of Mangaluru will be a blessing for some of its residents. With the impending visit on November 2 to National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Suratkal for its convocation, authorities want to ensure that the VVIP has a bump-free ride.  This comes after days of discontent among residents over the poor state of roads and the alleged apathy of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in fixing it. Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh held a meeting with concerned officials and asked them to undertake immediate repair work including in the stretch of highway from Kulur to the NIT. Following the meet chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, concerned officials have now divided the road stretch into three small parts amongst themselves. TNM had earlier reported how earlier in the month, people in the city had joined in protests after a 33-year-old social activist Arjun Mascharenas went on a silent-solo-protest. The protest was two weeks after some activists had held a protest at the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) headquarters and even met the top officials. The protests had triggered a kneejerk reaction from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Officials had then done some patchwork in the damaged stretch at Nanthoor Circle towards Mangaluru city centre. But overall the state of roads remain grim with the Mangalore City Corporation polls scheduled to be held on November 12. But even then activists pointed out that while the main highway on which the Vice President will travel is getting repaired, there is no work done to improve the service roads. Gopal Krishna Bhat, a civic activist based in the city, said, “In Mangaluru, we have three culprits—-the MCC, the NHAI and the state PWD department. While it is true the rains have been relentless since June, the bad quality of roads can’t be ignored. This is a well-known system to make money for the contractors now. They don’t do simple road laying properly. So, every time it rains, everything washes away. 20-30 years back too, it used to rain but roads were not this bad.” He alleged, “Some roads are so bad that there is no tar left. People can grow crops there if they want to. And no politician is better than the other. We have written a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office and Nitin Gadkari (Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways) as well but there has been no improvement.” TNM could not reach the Deputy Commissioner’s office for a comment. 

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K’taka CM sacks Ballari Urban Development Authority Chairman after BJP members protest

Politics

Karnataka CM Yediyurappa rescinded the appointment of the body's chairman after multiple BJP members threatened to resign.

TNM Staff

 The appointment of Dammur Shekhar as chairman of Ballari Urban Development Authority (BUDA) has been rescinded, after more than 40 BJP members in Karnataka's Ballari district threatened to resign in protest.    Dammur was appointed on Saturday and took charge of BUDA on Monday. However, his appointment was revoked by Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa following protests by BJP leaders in Ballari.  "We opposed the appointment of Dammur Shankar since it has not been three years since he entered the party. There are several others who are suitable for the role and have been with the BJP for longer. We are also opposed to the manner in which this appointment was nominated and accepted", says Channabasavagouda Patil, the president of the Ballari BJP unit.  BJP's Ballari district unit president Channabasavanagouda Patil and general secretaries KA Ramalingappa and Pujappa were among the leaders who announced their resignations in a press meet in Ballari on Tuesday.  The appointment had sparked a revolt within the Ballari district unit of the BJP since Dammur is a close aide of Ballari City MLA G Somashekara Reddy. A functionary of the Ballari BJP unit based in Ballari City who is close to Somashekara Reddy said that most of the party members who have resigned are from outside the city. "The appointment of Dammur Shankar was for the development of Ballari city but it was opposed by many people, mostly from BJP leaders outside Ballari city. We did not consult with the district unit for this reason but after listening to their views, the appointment was withdrawn and we will come up with a different person for the role," said the BJP worker. The leaders claimed that Dammur Shekhar was appointed despite opposition from the district unit of the BJP. They point to his connection to Somashekara Reddy as the reason for his appointment at the expense of committed and more experienced party leaders. Somashekara Reddy is the brother of Gali Janardhana Reddy, a former Union Minister and the prime accused in the 2011 Ballari mining scam. Even though Janardhana Reddy is prohibited from entering Ballari district by the Supreme Court (he has taken up residence in Molakalmuru on the border of Ballari and Chitradurga districts), his influence in the BJP's selection of candidates and decision-making in Ballari came to the fore during the 2018 Assembly elections. The development comes amid the BJP's preparations for the bye-elections in nearby Vijayapura Assembly constituency on December 5. The former Congress rebel and disqualified MLA Anand Singh is said to be preparing for the Vijayanagara  constituency bye-elections, where he plans to re-contest on a BJP ticket if the Supreme Court gives interim relief for the disqualified MLAs. Ballari's BJP unit including Somashekara Reddy are opposed to the idea of Anand Singh contesting on a BJP ticket. "There will be no appointment till the bye-elections since the BJP is focused on winning the Vijayanagara Assembly constituency. The district unit of the BJP will work together to achieve this," said a functionary of the BJP in the district.      

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Obamacare is stronger than ever — and a Trump-backed lawsuit could destroy it.

Enrollment opens this week with the insurance markets in good shape, but a federal court decision expected soon could spell new trouble for the law.

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Gun rights of Kodava community extended till 2029

Law and order

A petition in the Karnataka High Court had challenged the privileges enjoyed by the community for over a century.

TNM Staff

The Kodavas, an ethno-lingual community from Karnataka’s Kodagu district, are one of the few in India that are allowed to possess and carry firearms within the district. Now, the Ministry of Home Affairs has extended the special provision that exempts the community from getting a gun license till October 31, 2029. This applies to any person who is ‘Coorg by race’ and every Jamma tenure holder in Kodagu. “The arms or ammunition carried or possessed by any person being Coorg by race and every Jamma tenure holder in Coorg and herein exempted whilst residing or travelling outside the district of Coorg shall not exceed one rifle with 100 rounds of ammunition for the same and one smooth bore breech or muzzle loading gun with 500 cartridges or the equivalent in leaden shot and gunpowder,” according to the order issued through gazette notification on October 29. It was signed by Joint Secretary SCL Das. A petition filed in the Karnataka High Court in 2015, revived in 2018, threatened the privileges enjoyed by the community. The exemption has been in place for the last 158 years. The petitioner in the case, Chethan YK, a retired army captain from Kodagu, argued that the exemption amounts to discrimination on the basis of caste. The Kodava community has a long history with guns, and historians say that their culture is intrinsically linked with firearms. There are festivals in which gunshots are fired in the air, and a gun salute is performed when a child is born or a person dies. The British had granted the exemption for the people of Coorg to possess firearms in 1861. The exemption was then issued by the Union government in 1963 under the provisions of the Indian Arms Act, 1959. Also read: Caste inequality or cultural birthright? The debate over Kodava community’s gun rights

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Why DK Shivakumar is raking up a fight over a proposed medical college in Karnataka

Politics

On Tuesday, DK Shivakumar told the media that he would not allow the medical college to be shifted to Chikkaballapura from his constituency of Kanakapura.

Theja Ram

Former Karnataka Medical Education Minister DK Shivakumar returned to Bengaluru four days ago after a 50-day stint at New Delhi’s Tihar jail on allegations of money laundering. Three days after his return to Karnataka, DK Shivakumar has stirred up a controversy about a medical college that was to be constructed in his constituency in Ramanagara district’s Kanakapura. During the 2018-19 budget, the Congress-JD(S) coalition government had announced the construction of a medical college in Kanakapura. At the time, DK Shivakumar held the Medical Education and Water Resources portfolios. Shivakumar claimed that the then Chief Minister Kumaraswamy had also given the go-ahead for the project and was supposed to lay the foundation stone for the construction of the medical college in July this year. However, after the political turmoil that led to the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in July, the new BJP government decided to shift the proposed medical college from Kanakapura to Chikkaballapura, which was the constituency of disqualified Congress MLA Dr K Sudhakar. On Tuesday, DK Shivakumar told the media that he would not allow the medical college to be shifted to Chikkaballapura. “We wanted a government medical college in my constituency (Kanakapura). This was one of the major reasons why I had asked for Medical Education portfolio during the coalition rule, even though Rahul Gandhi had offered me two other bigger portfolios. When Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister, he had allotted land and had also sanctioned the proposal to open a medical college in Kanakapura. Kumaraswamy was also supposed to lay the foundation stone in July. But that did not happen,” DK Shivakumar told the media. DK Shivakumar alleged that once the Congress-JD(S) coalition collapsed, the BJP, which owed Dr K Sudhakar for rebelling against the Congress-JD(S) combine, decided to drop the plan to construct a medical college in Kanakapura and shift it to Chikkaballapura. “When the construction is set to begin, they (BJP) are indulging in vendetta politics. It was my dream project. I will not allow the medical college to be shifted to Chikkaballapura at any cost. I will sacrifice my life at the Vidhana Soudha if I have to, to ensure that the college is constructed in my constituency,” DK Shivakumar said. Soon after DK Shivakumar made the statement, Dr K Sudhakar, disqualified Chikkaballapura MLA challenged the Congress leader, stating that he would ensure that the medical college is constructed in his constituency and not Kanakapura. “DK Shivakumar does not have to sacrifice his life. We are constructing the medical college to save lives. He thinks Kanakapura is Karnataka. It is just a taluk. The previous government had decided that every district would get a medical college. When he was Medical Education Minister, he should have released the funds for it but he did not. It is because of this step-motherly treatment that I resigned,” Dr K Sudhakar said. The former legislator and Chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board also said that he would get Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to lay the foundation stone for the medical college in Chikkaballapura. “Before the bye-elections, I will lay the foundation stone for the college and this is 100% true. And I will get Yediyurappa to lay the foundation stone. There is already one medical college coming up in Ramanagara under Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. The government has decided to construct one in Chikkaballapura. I will retire from politics if the government fails to construct the college here,” he added. The row over the medical college is being perceived by many in political circles as DK Shivakumar’s strategy to discredit rebels from the Congress who led to the fall of the government in July. During the Assembly session held in July ahead of the vote of confidence, DK Shivakumar had openly challenged the rebel leaders and had vowed to ensure their defeat in the bye-elections. True to his word, DK Shivakumar has now plunged into the battle to discredit the rebels, and at the centre of this campaign is the medical college and Dr K Sudhakar. Congress leaders, especially DK Shivakumar, have time and again said that the rebels resigned from their posts due to the promise of money and power they were allegedly offered by the BJP. With the bye-elections slated to be held on December 5, DK Shivakumar, known as the party’s troubleshooter, is already building up a narrative to discredit his detractors and the row over the medical college is just the tip of the iceberg, sources say. Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are believed to have put their weight behind Sharath Bacche Gowda, son of BJP MP Bacche Gowda, who is mulling over contesting on a Congress ticket. Sharath Bacche Gowda was an aspirant for the BJP ticket from Hoskote. However, disqualified MLA MTB Nagaraj is being seen as the BJP face in Hoskote, thereby angering Sharath, who has on several occasions expressed his displeasure over the issue openly. “Discrediting the rebels is the first strategy. Dr Sudhakar has a huge following and being a Vokkaliga leader, it became doubly important for DK Shivakumar to ensure that Sudhakar (also from the Vokkaliga community) does not gain popularity in Old Mysuru region as it would split the Congress vote bank. The plan is to bring out allegations against each rebel one by one, to show that they have taken favours from the BJP and resigned,” the Congress source said.

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Two Bengaluru pujaris allegedly rob house of devotee after making duplicate key

Crime

The two pujaris had allegedly stolen gold jewelry worth Rs 8 lakh.

TNM Staff

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Police in Bengaluru said they have arrested two pujaris after the duo allegedly robbed gold valuables from a residence in Srirampura after accessing the house with a duplicate key. The two have been sent to judicial custody and all the stolen goods have been recovered. The two have been identified as Nagaraj (42), who hailed from neighbouring Chikkaballapura, and Lakshmana (38), a resident of Srirampura. Lakshmana is a local pujari in the area and performs pujas in the neighbourhood temple. He had come to the house as he visited their house to perform many rituals. Reports said it was only when the two had come to the house to perform one such ritual they conspired to carry out the alleged theft. According to police, the price of the stolen gold jewelry worth Rs 8 lakh. The Sampigehalli police arrested them after a complaint was lodged by Pavan Gowda who resides in the house in Srirampura along with his mother.  Police said that the duo had made a duplicate key after Pavan had given Lakshmana his car for some errand. Along with the car key, it also had a copy of the house key with which Lakshamana made a copy. Police said the theft was committed on October 17 when the mother-son duo were away in Dharmasthala. Investigators said the duo parted with only 200 gm of gold as recenty they had deposited other valuables in a bank locker. The complainants approached the police after they found their house ransacked once they returned. Police started the probe and found there was no forced entry into the crime scene and the duo was nabbed after studying locations of their cellphone. Police said the two have also allegedly confessed to the crimes after interrogation.

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