BJP likely to field former CMs Shettar and Bommai in Lok Sabha polls

News Network

March 7, 2024

Bengaluru: The BJP, which aims to secure significant victories in Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, may nominate two of its former Chief Ministers -- Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, both hailing from the dominant Lingayat community, considered the party's core vote-base. Providing indications about this, veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa said discussions have taken place regarding candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, including Bommai and Shettar, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the party's national president J P Nadda, but no final decision has been made.

Yediyurappa, a former Chief Minister and a member of the BJP's Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee, also hinted that the BJP may allocate two to three seats to its alliance partner JD(S) in Karnataka, with the final decision to be made by the party's national leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP leaders from various states are meeting Shah and Nadda ahead of the party's Central Election Committee, which includes Modi and other senior leaders, holding its second meeting later this week to finalize the party's candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The party has so far announced candidates for 195 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 543 across the country.

"Yesterday, Amit Shah ji, Nadda ji, and all of us together discussed candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats. Who should be given the ticket has not yet been finalized. All of that will be discussed with the Prime Minister, and we might get clarity in two to three days," Yediyurappa told reporters in the national capital. He added, "Everything has been discussed, but who will be given a ticket from where has not yet been finalized. Discussions have happened about Bommai and Jagadish Shettar."

Speculations are rife within the state BJP circles that Bommai, currently an MLA from Shiggaon, may be fielded from Haveri, with the party's sitting MP Shivakumar Udasi announcing retirement from electoral politics after the current term ends. Shettar may be fielded from Belgaum (Belagavi), currently represented by Mangala Angadi, the widow of former Union Minister of State Suresh Angadi. She won by a margin of over 5,000 votes in the 2021 bypolls against the Congress strongman Satish Jarkiholi when the seat fell vacant due to her husband's death.

BJP aims to replace Mangala with a strong candidate to retain the seat, and Shettar’s name is doing the rounds as he also happens to be a relative of the Angadi family and was the poll incharge of this seat during the bypoll. Shettar, who quit the BJP to join the Congress ahead of the state assembly polls last year after being denied the ticket, rejoined his old party in January. Both Bommai and Shettar are from the Lingayat community, which is considered the strong vote-base of the BJP in Karnataka. According to party sources, the community's "slight shift" away from the saffron party in the Assembly polls last year is said to be one of the major reasons for its defeat. Yediyurappa is also a Lingayat.

According to Yediyurappa, there will be another round of discussions with the BJP's central leadership on Thursday at which some decisions may be taken. He also expressed confidence about winning at least 25 seats, and noted that efforts are underway in this direction. Regarding the seats that will be given to JD(S), he said the decision made by Modi and Shah is final. "It is not yet finalized as to which seats will be given to them. Two to three seats may be given to them," he added.

BJP and JD(S) have held discussions on seat sharing, but there is no official announcement yet. As per available information, JD(S) may contest in three seats -- Mandya, Hassan, and Kolar. There may also be a possibility of a JD(S) candidate contesting on the BJP symbol, according to sources, and it is likely to be noted cardiac surgeon and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's son-in-law Dr. C N Manjunath from the Bangalore Rural segment, where sitting MP and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh is likely to be the Congress candidate once again. There is also pressure from party workers on Gowda's son -- former CM and JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy -- to contest from the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JD(S) sources added.

The BJP aims to repeat or surpass its 2019 Lok Sabha polls performance, when it swept the state, winning 25 out of the total 28 seats, and ensured the victory of a party-supported independent candidate in Mandya. The Congress and the JD(S), which were running a coalition government back then and fought the election together, each won just one seat. However, the political landscape has changed significantly; the Congress scored a resounding victory in the Assembly elections in May last year and now appears battle-ready, determined to put up a strong show in the Lok Sabha polls. It is also a role reversal of sorts for JD(S), which joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year and aims to prove that it is still a force to be reckoned with, particularly in South Karnataka.

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Israel launches new aggression on residential neighbourhood in Lebanon’s capital, many killed

News Network

November 24,2025

Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable.

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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