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Bengaluru, Mar 18: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the party's first list of candidates for the Assembly polls, which is likely by May, will be announced on March 22, the day of Ugadi festival, which is observed as New Year by Kannadigas.

The former Chief Minister, who took part in the Congress' Central Election Committee meeting in New Delhi on Friday, said, the meeting also discussed regarding poll strategy and Rahul Gandhi's visit to the state. "We were preparing election strategy at the meeting yesterday. Also Rahul Gandhi is coming to Belagavi on March 20 to attend a state-level youth rally, we have discussed its preparations," Siddaramaiah told reporters in New Delhi.

Asked about discussions regarding candidates selection, he said, the first list will be released on March 22 morning, on the day of Ugadi festival. The Congress’ Central Election Committee, headed by the party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge met on Friday in New Delhi, during which according to reports they have approved the first list of 125 candidates, which include 61 sitting Congress MLAs.

The screening committee of the party had earlier this month reviewed all the applications of the ticket aspirants, and their opinion was sent to the central election committee of the AICC for the final review. Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar after the meeting on Friday night had said that the CEC deliberated on names recommended by the state screening committee, and it has approved most names, and AICC will announce it.

He also indicated that most of the sitting MLAs may get the ticket, stating that "all of them have done a good job." Responding to a question on the possibility of any alliance, the KPCC chief said, "there is no alliance with any one, for one seat there is a proposal request, we will discuss and decide on it" The Congress has set a target of winning at least 150 seats in the 224-member Assembly, to come to power in Karnataka, with a clear majority. While JD(S) has already announced the first list of 93 candidates for Assembly polls, BJP and Congress are yet to announce their list.

Asked about the constituency he will be contesting from, Siddaramaiah today said, he will abide by the high command's decision. To a question on reports about Rahul Gandhi advising him not to contest from Kolar, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly said, "Who said? Either Siddaramaiah or I will have to confirm this....I have left it to the high command. Whatever the high command decides, I will go by that."

Stating that his name has not been cleared yet by the party, he said, "I had said in Kolar that I will go by the high command's decision." Siddaramaiah, who is currently MLA from Badami, had earlier said that he has decided to contest the upcoming Assembly polls from Kolar, subject to approval from the party high command. 

Mangaluru, Mar 21: Even as the Karnataka assembly elections are nearing, the Dakshina Kannada district police are gearing up to handle the situation.

Dakshina Kannada superintendent of police Vikram Amathe visited checkposts at Naravi, Charmadi, Kokkada in Belthangady assembly constituency on Sunday and held meetings with the officers concerned. 

The SP briefed the police officers and staff on election duties and asked them to ensure effective functioning of the checkposts.

The officer also visited polling booths in Naxal-hit areas and sensitive booths at Navoor, Thotathadi and Ujire. Citizen committee meetings were held in Navoor and Charmadi villages where there are sensitive polling booths, to instil confidence among the people. Warnings were issued to rowdy-sheeters.

The SP also inspected basic facilities at schools and colleges which are shortlisted for the accomodation of paramilitary personnel, who will be deployed across the district for election duty.

In a meeting with the victims of various cases pertaining to Belthangady police circle jurisdiction on Sunday, the SP directed the local police to investigate the issues raised by the public. The victims were provided details on the status of their case.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has favourably received an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit the kingdom following the reconciliation deal between the two countries, an Iranian official has said.

“In a letter to President Raisi … the King of Saudi Arabia welcomed the deal between the two brotherly countries [and] invited him to Riyadh,” tweeted Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, adding to this Sunday message that “Raisi welcomed the invitation”.

The two regional heavyweights announced on March 10 a Chinese-brokered deal to restore ties seven years after they were severed.

Riyadh cut relations after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in 2016 following the Saudi execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr – just one in a series of flashpoints between the two long-standing regional rivals.

The deal is expected to see Shia-majority Iran and mainly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia reopen their embassies and missions within two months and implement security and economic cooperation deals signed more than 20 years ago.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters on Sunday that the two countries had agreed to hold a meeting between their top diplomats.

He added that three locations for the talks had been suggested, without specifying where.

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Tehran, said that Amir-Abdollahian stressed “that both countries are exchanging technical teams to inspect the embassies in Tehran and Riyadh and see whether they’re ready for both missions to be deployed there”.

“The Iranians suggested, according to Amir-Abdollahian, three locations for the meeting. The exchange took place now through the Swiss embassy, and not through the Chinese. This could indicate that there are several channels between the Iranians and Saudis right now,” Hashem said.

The detente between Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, and Iran, strongly at odds with Western governments over its nuclear activities, has the potential to reshape relations across a region characterised by turbulence for decades.

Iran and Saudi Arabia support rival sides in several conflict zones – including Yemen, where the Houthi rebels are aligned with Tehran and where a military coalition supporting the government is led by Riyadh.

The two sides also vie for influence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

A number of Gulf countries followed Riyadh’s action in 2016 and scaled back ties with Tehran, though the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait recently restored ties.

Amir-Abdollahian said Iran also hoped steps would be made to normalise its ties with Bahrain, a close Saudi ally that followed Riyadh in severing diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016.

In the past, Bahrain accused Iran of having trained and backed a Shia-led uprising in the Sunni-ruled kingdom in order to topple the Manama government. Tehran denies this.

“An agreement was reached two months ago for Iranian and Bahraini technical delegations to visit the embassies of the two countries. We hope that some obstacles between Iran and Bahrain will be removed and we will take basic steps to reopen the embassies,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

There was no immediate comment from Manama.

Bahrain, together with other Gulf Arab states, welcomed the agreement between Riyadh and Tehran to restore relations.

In September, Iran welcomed an Emirati ambassador after a six-year absence, and a month earlier it said Kuwait had sent its first ambassador to Tehran since 2016.

Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani also held talks with United Arab Emires President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday in yet another sign of the shifting relations in the region.