JD(S) to contest RS polls despite CM refusing to back its nominee

DHNS
March 6, 2018

Bengaluru, Mar 6: Hectic political parleys for the Rajya Sabha polls is likely in store this week as the filing of the nomination for four seats to Upper House of Parliament from Karnataka opened on Monday.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued the notification for the elections scheduled on March 23. As of now, it is unlikely to be a unanimous election. The JD(S) declared that it will contest the polls even though it is short of numbers to win even a single seat. The ruling Congress, on the other end, stuck to its stand of fielding the third candidate.

Members of the Legislative Assembly form the electoral college for the Rajya Sabha polls. A candidate requires about 44 votes to win the polls.

In the Assembly, the Congress has 122 MLAs on its side. Though the JD(S) has 37 MLAs, seven of its rebel MLAs have pledged support to the Congress. The Congress is hoping to win the third seat with the help of the seven JD(S) rebels and some independent legislators. The BJP with 46 MLAs can win one seat.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will leave for New Delhi on Tuesday to hold a discussion with the party high command to finalise Congress candidates. Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah ruled out holding talks with the JD(S) for the third seat.

Siddaramaiah's stand has not gone down well with the JD(S). The party's state chief

H D Kumaraswamy hit back at the Congress, stating that his party was not dependent on the ruling party's support to contest the elections.

Speaking to DH, Kumaraswamy said, "Very good -- let them (Congress) go ahead. We have no hopes regarding the Congress. We are not even interested. Without fail, we will field a candidate. Our party president (H D Deve Gowda) has already announced that we will fight the elections."

The party, which has decided to field businessman B M Farooq, is however still pinning hopes on the Congress high command to come to its aid. It has asked its party Rajya Sabha MP Kupendra Reddy to hold negotiations with the Congress central leaders. "We have asked Kupendra Reddy to hold talks at the Delhi level. If they are interested, then it is okay. If they are not, we will leave it," said Kumaraswamy.

The list of aspirants in the Congress is long. Former Lok Sabha Speakers Shivraj Patil and Meira Kumar are said to be aspiring to contest. Senior leaders including Shamanur Shivashankarappa, S R Patil, Veeranna Mattikatti, Rani Satish and Allamm Prabhu Patil are also in the race.

The BJP Parliamentary Board, which will meet in New Delhi will decide on the party candidate. Two names are doing the rounds, two-term Independent MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar and former Lok Sabha member Vijay Sankeshwar.

Parties have one week to finalise their candidates with March 12 being the last date for filing nominations.

Comments

zahoor ahmed
 - 
Tuesday, 6 Mar 2018

No ticket to shivaraj or Meera kumar, both are not belong to Karnataka and their contribution to state is Zero.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 28,2020

Bengaluru, July 28: Former prime minister and JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda today threatened to launch a state-wide agitation in against the amendments made to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act.

Gowda’s opposition to the new law comes even as Congress leader Siddaramaiah is also doggedly pursuing it.

Demanding that the state government immediately rollback the ordinance empowering these amendments, the octogenarian leader said he personally would take to streets if the government failed to budge.

The B S Yediyurappa government has liberalised the land reforms law by removing restrictions on non-agriculturists from purchasing and owning farm lands.

The government has also amended the APMC Act and has tweaked labour laws, which are all “against the interest of the state and must be rolled back,” Gowda said.

Speaking to reporters here, Gowda stated that he had already written thrice to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in this regard. "The ordinances have to be taken back. The amendments to Karnataka Land Reforms Act, by repealing sections 79-A, B and C, is an anti-farmer move. The APMC Act amendment, too, is against the interest of the state. The government has failed to speak about the impact of these amendments," said Gowda, who is now a Rajya Sabha member.

Elaborating on the amendment to the Land Reform Act, the JD(S) patriarch opined that by throwing open agricultural land ownership to anybody at all, the government was only helping real estate developers while pushing farmers into a “vulnerable” situation.

Amidst all this, there are now reports of funds misappropriation in Covid-19 relief measures and in procurement of medical equipment, he said, adding that it seemed like only the corrupt became stronger over time.

Further, Gowda lambasted both national parties for creating political unrest, referring to the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan and the recent developments in Madhya Pradesh. However, he added that he would not wish to dwell on it much, while emphasising that his focus was primarily on strengthening his own party at this point in time.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 17: The first chartered flight repatriating Indians stranded at Kuwait for months landed at the international airport here.

The Jazeera Airways flight privately booked by the Keralites and coastal Kannadigas living in the Arab country had left sometime in the afternoon with 160 passengers on board.

The flight also carried the mortal remains of Sathish Kochu Shetty (45), who died in a fire tragedy at a refinery in Kuwait on June 14.

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News Network
January 20,2020

Chamarajanagara, Jan 20: Karnataka High Court Judge P G M Patil has said that it was the responsibility of the judiciary to ensure that justice was not delayed.

He was speaking at a function marking the inauguration of the first and second floors of the district courts in Chamarajanagar town here last evening. He said that the role of the judiciary was critical in establishing justice in society and hence all efforts must be made to ensure that there was no delay in securing justice.

He observed that the district court has been provided with better amenities that should be utilized for the benefit of the public. The district is no longer backward. It has shown progress and development in recent years and has produced three HC judges, Justice Patil added.

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