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It’s official: Siddaramaiah to contest from Badami too

Agencies
April 22, 2018

Bengaluru, Apr 21: Ending suspense over contesting from a second constituency, chief minister Siddaramaiah would file his nomination from Badami in north Karnataka on April 24 for the May 12 assembly polls.

Siddaramaiah has been maintaining that his desire was to contest from Chamundeshwari in Mysuru but he was under pressure from local party leaders to be in the fray from Badami, as it would boost the Congress' prospects in north Karnataka.

The chief minister would file his papers on April 24 between 2 and 3 pm, officials at the CM's office said.

Earlier an official tour programme circulated by the chief minister's office had said Siddaramaiah would file his nomination from Badami on April 23 afternoon but it was withdrawn, deepening the suspense.

Siddaramaiah, who has already filed his nomination from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru, has been saying he was under pressure from local party leaders in Bagalkote and Vijayapura districts to contest from Badami but would leave the final decision to the Congress high command.

Siddaramaiah has been camping in Mysuru since Monday.

He has dedicated his entire schedule for campaigning in Chamundeshwari and Varuna, constituencies from where he and his son Yatindra are candidates respectively.

He returned to Bengaluru today.

Siddaramaiah restricting his campaign to two constituencies has fuelled speculations that he was unhappy that the party central leadership had not allowed him to contest from two constituencies.

The Congress in its list of candidates for 218 seats announced on April 15, had named Dr Devraj Patil as its nominee from Badami. But issuing of B-form (required to be filed by a political party mentioning name of its approved candidate) to Patil has been put on hold. 

Siddaramaiah's reported wish to contest from two seats was said to have met with stiff opposition from veteran party leaders Mallikarjuna Kharge and Veerappa Moily, after which it was decided to field Patil.

Fielding Patil has led to internal squabbling within the local unit of the party with many including sitting MLA Chimmanakatti opposed to it.

Chimmanakatti has said if the Chief Minister is not contesting, he should be the candidate.

Badami with strong Kuruba presence, the community to which Siddaramaiah belongs, was seen as second safe option for the Chief Minister as reports have suggested that the battle in Chamundeshwari will not be an easy one for him.

Siddaramaiah has won five times and tasted defeat twice at Chamundeshwari, from where he has been announced as" the candidate.

JDS has vowed to defeat Siddaramaiah while the BJP's candidate in Chamundeshwari is considered a lightweight, amid allegations that there was a tacit understanding between the two parties.

He has been representing Varuna constituency in Mysuru since 2008, which has now been allotted to his son. 

Speaking to reporters here today, Siddaramaiah said he had conveyed to the high command his desire to contest only from Chamundeshwari constituency.

"I have told the high command that I will contest from" Chamundeshwari and not from two constituencies.

"However, the"people of north Karnataka are pressurising the high command that I should contest from north Karnataka too," he said.

The chief minister said he has not taken any decision and he will go by the decision of the high command.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 29,2020

Mangaluru, June 29: As many as 32 fresh covid positive cases were reported in Dakshina Kannada today. In Udupi 18 new positive cases were reported. 

In Dakshina Kannada out of the 32 positive cases, one had returned from another state. Ten persons had contracted the disease from patient number 9590, 10274, 10275, 9739, 9589, 12384 and 10582.

Nine persons are suffering from influenza-like illness (ILI), and Six others are suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection. The health officials are tracing the contacts of five others.

In Udupi, out of 18 positive cases, 5 had travelled from Maharashtra, four had travelled from Bangaluru and nine others had contracted the virus from the COVID Positive patients.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Davanagere, Jun 2: A special pooja was performed by Honnali BJP MLA and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's political secretary MP Renukacharya at Hirekalmatha, in Honnali against COVID-19.

A Nava Graha pooja was also performed for the betterment of those infected. Those present at the pooja maintained social distancing norms and covered their faces with masks.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 1,90,535 including 93,322 active cases. While 91,819 people have either been cured, discharged or migrated, 5,394 deaths have been reported.

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News Network
June 28,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 28: Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah asked the Karnataka government to release White Paper over the state of healthcare system and the government's preparedness to address COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that the State Government to come clean on the charges of misappropriation of large sums of funds in the name of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

"People are extremely worried about the state of our healthcare system and the government's preparedness to address pandemic. It is the responsibility of Karnataka Chief Minister to clear the doubts and reduce the panic among people. I urge the government to #ReleaseWhitePaper about the same," the Congress leader tweeted.

Siddaramaiah said that the Chief Minister should let people know about the amount of money already spent to improve healthcare facilities, the number of beds and ventilators increased and about the supply of PPE kits to COVID-19 warriors.

"Karnataka Chief Minister should also reveal the contribution of PMO India to our state. Has Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa demanded anything from Narendra Modi? How much of PM CARES Fund is spent for Karnataka's healthcare?" he asked in another tweet.

He went on to say that PMO India and Chief Minister of Karnataka "wasted crucial time during lockdown."

"The purpose of lockdown was to fill the gaps in health care system. But they just widened it by frequently changing the protocols and by not doing adequate tests," he said.

"Karnataka Chief Minister and other departments have failed to answer my multiple queries regarding the actions taken. As a leader of opposition, it is my right to question the government on behalf of people. Deliberate act of denying information is a breach of privilege. Government hospitals have reached its capacity and private hospitals are not ready to treat patients at capped prices," he wrote.

Siddaramaiah said that the Karnataka Chief Minister should either convince private players or take action against them, and added, "Not doing both is like pushing people off the cliff."

He tweeted, "The testing rates per day have come down in last 15 days even when the cases are rising. What is stopping the government from increasing the testing? The government is putting people at risk by not testing adequately."

Further attacking the state government, he wrote, "Our state needs 9000 ventilators, but we have only 1500, PMO India has sent 90 to us. Is this a joke to Karnataka Chief Minister and PMO India? #ReleaseWhitePaper about the ways that they plan to increase ventilators."

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