Karnataka polls: UTK’s Mangaluru, DKS’ Kanakapura… 20 seats to watch out for

News Network
March 29, 2023

polls.jpg

For the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka, following are the 20 seats to watch out for:

1. Shiggaon: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is the sitting MLA. He won the 2018 assembly election with a victory margin of 9,265 votes against Sayed Azeem Peer Khadri (Congress).

2. Varuna: Congress stalwart and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is going back to his old constituency, which he had ‘sacrificed’ for his son S Yathindra in 2018 and went on to contest from Chamundeshwari and Badami. While he lost from Chamundeshwari to JD(S) candidate G T Deve Gowda, he won with a margin of 1,996 against the BJP candidate B Sriramulu in Badami. Now, it is his son’s turn to make the "sacrifice".

3. Mangaluru: The Congress has again fielded its Deputy Leader in Assembly, U T Khader Ali Fareed. He is the only Congress MLA in the BJP stronghold of Dakshina Kannada district.

4. Mandya: M Srinivas from the JD(S) had won the 2018 assembly election defeating the Congress candidate. The BJP, which was in the third position, now has the backing of independent MP Sumalatha, who recently extended her support to it.

5. Kanakapura: Congress state president D K Shivakumar, nick-named as ‘Kanakapura Rock’ is a seven-time MLA and has maintained his winning streak from 1989 to till date.

6. Hassan: The BJP’s Preetham Gowda broke the JD(S) monopoly last time by defeating H S Prakash with a victory margin of about 13,000 votes. This time, the JD(S) is confronted with a ‘family feud’ where Deve Gowda’s daughter-in-law (H D Revanna’s wife) Bhavani has demanded a ticket to contest from Hassan.

7. Kolar: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had expressed his willingness to contest from here but withdrew at the last moment. The JD(S) sitting MLA K Srinivasa Gowda had sided with the Congress during the Rajya Sabha election last year in June. The JD(S) has to hunt for a new candidate.

8. Channapatna: JD(S) second-in-command H D Kumaraswamy decided to contest from here instead of Ramanagara in 2018 only to defeat the local strongman C P Yogeeshwara. Kumaraswamy is again contesting from the same constituency.

9. Shikaripura: The seat held by former CM and Lingayat strongman B S Yediyurappa is now vacant following his retirement from active politics. There is a buzz in political circles that his second son B Y Vijayendra may get the ticket.

10. Shivamogga: K S Eshwarappa, who resigned as minister following a bribery charge, is the sitting MLA here.

11. Soraba: This constituency may see the two sons of former chief minister late S Bangarappa, Kumar Bangarappa, who is a sitting BJP MLA, and Madhu Bangarappa, pitted against each other again. Last time the JD(S) gave Madhu ticket but this time he is in the Congress.

12. Gokak: Nicknamed as 'Sahukara', Ramesh Jarkiholi of the powerful Jarkiholi family of Belagavi has been representing this seat since 1999. Jarkiholi resigned from his ministerial position following a sex scandal two years ago. Jarkiholi quit Congress and joined the BJP in 2019.

13. Devanahalli: The Modi Juggernaut in 2019 had halted Congress MP K H Muniyappa’s long stint in Lok Sabha continuously from 1991. Muniyappa who had spent all his electoral politics in Lok Sabha is trying his luck from Devanahalli and he will fight the assembly election against JD(S) sitting MLA L N Narayana Swamy.

14. Gangavati: Gangavati has suddenly become important after the mining baron and former BJP minister G Janardhana Reddy decided to fight from here representing his new party “Karnataka Rajya Pragathi Paksha ''. Currently it is held by Paranna Ishwarappa Munavalli of BJP.

15. Vijayapura: Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, known for his controversial statements, is the BJP MLA here.

16. Ballari city: Former Minister, mining baron and chief of Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha, G Janardhana Reddy has announced that his wife Aruna Lakshmi will be fielded from here. Reddy's brother G Somasekara Reddy is the sitting BJP MLA.

17. Chittapur: Former Minister Priyank Kharge, son of AICC President M Mallikarjuna Kharge, is seeking reelection from here.

18. Koratagere: Former Deputy Chief Minister and five time MLA, G Parameshwara, is seeking reelection from here. A former state congress chief, who served in that post for eight years, he has already said he is among the Chief Ministerial aspirants.

19. Ramanagara: Anitha Kumaraswamy, wife of former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, had won the 2018 election. This time the party has fielded Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil. He had lost his maiden poll battle in the Lok Sabha election in 2019 to the BJP backed independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya.

20. Chikkamagaluru: BJP national general secretary and four-time MLA C T Ravi, is representing this seat. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 23,2023

Gazatruce.jpg

Jerusalem, Nov 23: Israel said a four-day Gaza truce and hostage release will not start until at least Friday, stalling a breakthrough deal to pause the war with Hamas.

Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi indicated the release of at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas was still on track, but would not happen on Thursday as expected.

“The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly,” he said in a statement.

“The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday.”

A second Israeli official said that a temporary halt in fighting would also not begin on Thursday.

The delay is a hammer blow to families desperate to see their loved ones return home, and to two million-plus Gazans praying for an end to 47 days of war and deprivation.

The complex and carefully choreographed deal saw Israel and Hamas agree a four-day truce, during which at least 50 hostages taken in the Palestinian resistance group’s October 7 operation would be released.

For every 10 additional hostages released, there would be an extra day’s “pause” in fighting, an Israeli government document said.

Three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, were among those earmarked for release.

In turn, Israel would release at least 150 Palestinian women and children and allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged coastal territory after weeks of bombardment and heavy fighting.

It was not immediately clear what caused the delay, which came after weeks of talks involving Israel, Palestinian militant groups, Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Thursday that implementation of the accord “continues and is going positively.”

“The truce agreement that was reached will be concluded in the coming hours,” he said.

The agreement has been approved by Hamas leaders and by Israel — despite fierce opposition from some within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.

Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir described the deal as a “historic mistake” that would embolden Hamas and risk the lives of Israeli troops.

Netanyahu has backed the agreement with Hamas, but vowed the truce will be temporary and will not end the campaign to destroy Hamas.

“We are winning and will continue to fight until absolute victory,” he said on Wednesday, vowing to secure Israel from threats emanating from Gaza and Lebanon, home to Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Tensions rose on Israel’s northern border early Thursday, after Hezbollah said five fighters, including the son of a senior lawmaker, had been killed.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, the frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen almost daily exchanges of fire, raising fears the Gaza war fuel a region wide conflagration.

Israel’s army said in statements Wednesday evening that it had struck a number of Hezbollah targets, including a “terrorist cell” and infrastructure.

In Washington, the White House said President Joe Biden had spoken to Netanyahu on Wednesday and “emphasized the importance of maintaining calm along the Lebanese border as well as in the West Bank.”

The White House has pressed Israel not to escalate clashes with Hezbollah, for fear of sparking a war that could drag in US and Iranian forces.

Biden also spoke to the leaders of Qatar and Egypt Wednesday, as he pushed for the truce to be “fully implemented” and to “ultimately secure the release of all hostages.”

Families on both sides grappled with a lack of clarity over how the releases would unfold.

“We don’t know who will get out because Hamas will release the names every evening of those who will get out the next day,” said Gilad Korngold, whose son and daughter-in-law are being held in Gaza along with their two children and other relatives.

Israel’s list of eligible Palestinian prisoners included 123 detainees under 18 and 33 women, among them Shrouq Dwayyat, convicted of attempted murder in a 2015 knife attack.

“I had hoped that she would come out in a deal,” her mother, Sameera Dwayyat, said, but added that her relief was tempered by “great pain in my heart” over the dead children in Gaza.

In Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, displaced Palestinians remained skeptical about the Israel-Hamas deal.

“What truce are they talking about? We don’t need a truce just so aid can come in. We want to go home,” said Maysara Assabagh, who fled northern Gaza for a hospital that now shelters about 35,000 displaced people.

Large parts of Gaza have been flattened by thousands of air strikes, and the territory faces shortages of food, water and fuel.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 28,2023

apartmentfire.jpg

Mangaluru, Nov 28: A woman lost her life after a fire mishap led to an explosion at a flat in an apartment building at Attavar area in Mangaluru on Tuesday, November 28. 

The deceased is identified as Shaheena Nusba (58), wife of Abdullah Kola.

It is learnt that the fire erupted at around 4 a.m. due to an electrical short circuit which led to the explosion of an aquarium. 

Nine people including five children were present in the home at the time of the mishap. Shaheena who was a cardiac patient, breathed her last when the smoke engulfed the house. 

The injured have been admitted to different hospitals in Mangaluru. All are said to safe and out of danger.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 24,2023

student.jpg

Mangaluru, Nov 24: A college student lost his life as he crashed his motorbike into a road divider at Ujire college road in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada on Thursday, November 23.

The deceased has been identified as Deekshith (20), a student of mechanical diploma of Ujire college and resident of Kariyanela of Kalmanja village. He is survived by parents, brother and sister.

Deekshith had gone out of college campus during lunch break. As he was returning to college after lunch he lost control and hit the bike against the road divider, sources said.

Though he was rushed to hospital in Mangaluru, he succumbed to injuries. A case was registered in Belthangady traffic police station.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.