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Bengaluru: BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde represented Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha segment in Karnataka for six terms and now gynecologist Anjali Nimbalkar is putting up a spirited fight seeking to turn the tide and "deliver" it for the Congress.

Dr Nimbalkar is taking on former Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, who replaced Hegde, in this BJP stronghold.

A former Congress MLA, she lost the Assembly elections from Khanapur in Belagavi district last year.

The 62-year-old Kageri, a six-term MLA and a former minister, was also defeated in the Assembly polls from Sirsi.

"In the past 30 years, the voice of Uttara Kannada was not spoken and not even a single question was asked in the Parliament," Nimbalkar said in an apparent dig at Hegde.

If elected, she said her focus is to address the local issues related to forest dwellers, getting them 'patra' for their own land -- a battle they have been fighting for long.

Also on her priority list is getting a multispecialty hospital in Kumta as per people's demand, generating employment and focusing on tourism for the overall development of Uttara Kannada.

"Issues related to forest dwellers -- they want a 'patra' for their own land -- we will try and put forth these issues in the first session itself and we will see to it that maximum applications which are pending with the Central government get cleared during the first session itself," she said in an interview.

"So, our thing is that at least 50 per cent of the jobs should be given to the local Kannadigas in the Central schemes which are implemented in the district," she said.

Noting that Uttara Kannada has a combination of both beaches and temples, Nimbalkar said the district can be developed internationally in a much higher scale than "what actually Goa or Kerala is".

The Congress candidate is also banking on the five guarantee schemes launched by the Siddaramaiah-led government in Karnataka and the promises made by party in its manifesto at the national level.

Responding to a question, she expressed happiness that the Congress has fielded a total of six women candidates out of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka.

While campaigning, Nimbalkar said she was overwhelmed to see a large number of people, especially women, turning up for her rallies despite the intense heat in Uttara Kannada.

"They are very happy that the Congress has given a woman candidate and an educated candidate who herself is a doctor and a gynecologist. So they are excited that, yes, she can be our voice in the Parliament who can fight for our rights," the 47-year-old said.

"I have worked as an MLA (Khanapur), so they have seen my work in the Assembly and the expectations are like, yes, she will be the one who will be speaking for us and that faith is seen in their eyes," she said.

Nimbalkar strongly believes that when women enter any field, it brings a different perspective - be it in terms of management, policy formulation or even as homemakers.

Uttara Kannada is among the 14 constituencies going for polls in Karnataka under second phase on May 7.

Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats and the first phase of polling was held on April 26.

Itamar Ben Gvir, a notorious far-right Israeli minister, has suggested that some Palestinians could be “killed” instead of being kidnapped during the savage war in Gaza.
 
The minister made remarks during an Israeli war cabinet meeting where he questioned the necessity of the detention of a large number of Palestinians.

“Why are there so many arrests? “Can’t you kill some? Do you want to tell me they all surrender? What are we to do with so many arrested? It’s dangerous for the soldiers.” Ben-Gvir was quoted as asking the Israeli military's chief of staff Herzi Halevi.

The minister also reportedly demanded that the army shoot Palestinian women and children in the besieged Palestinian territory to “protect” the Israeli forces.

Halevi briefed ministers who attended the cabinet meeting on the military campaign in Gaza and highlighted that hundreds of Palestinians had surrendered to the occupying forces.

Ben Gvir recently also called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners to ease overcrowding in the jails. The minister said that applying the death penalty to Palestinian detainees was the “right” solution to tackle the problem of prison overcrowding.

Israel soldiers have abducted more than 5,000 of Palestinians during their ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

The Gaza media office has said that Palestinian prisoners were undergoing "the worst kinds of torture" in Israeli jails.

Palestinian rights group Addameer earlier this month said Israel was holding 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners, not including those taken from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians since 7 October. Those detained, often without charge, describe regular beatings and a solitary daily meal designed simply to keep them alive.

Palestinians taken prisoner or hostage from both the West Bank and Gaza have given testimonies detailing horrific and sadistic abuse and torture by their Israeli jailers including beatings, verbal abuse, sexual abuse and rape, breaking of limbs, burns, being stripped naked, and forced drug taking.

In yet another setback to the Congress party amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, its candidate from Indore Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination on Monday, April 29, days before voting.

Interestingly, he had reached the Collector's office with BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola to withdraw his nomination. He also reportedly joined BJP. 

Senior BJP leader and state cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya in a post on X said Bam was welcome to join the BJP.

"Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Indore Akshay Kanti Bam is welcome in the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party national president J P Nadda, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state president VD Sharma," he said in the post.

The Congress had fielded Bam against sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, where polling will be held on May 13.