Ramadan fast in coastal Karnataka from March 23 as new moon is sighted

Bengaluru, May 14: The newly elected Congress MLAs are likely to 'vote' at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting is scheduled to be held today to elect their leader who will be the new chief minister of Karnataka at 

Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar has a strong claim on the chief minister's chair, but there is also Siddaramaiah who is eyeing a second term. 

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the CLP meeting will be held at 5.30 pm. The party has already given instructions to all its MLAs to arrive in Bengaluru.

According to party sources, the MLAs will be given an opportunity to "vote" for their choice of the CM candidate. "The party had done a similar exercise in Himachal Pradesh. There will be AICC observers who will conduct the poll. All the MLAs will vote and the CM candidate will be decided based on this process," sources in the party said. 

Shivakumar, who was appointed KPCC president in March 2020, said he had promised Sonia Gandhi that he would "deliver" Karnataka. "Today, I have fulfilled my promise," he said. 

An 8-time MLA, Shivakumar has the optics going for him. He broke down on national television, profusely thanking the Gandhi family. Shivakumar's supporters have been running the #DKforCM campaign on social media. 

In the election, the Congress' domination of the Old Mysuru region would go to Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga.  

It is also generally perceived that whoever is the KPCC president becomes a natural choice for the CM's post - SM Krishna and Veerendra Patil are examples.

The party must balance Shivakumar's aspiration with Siddaramaiah's expectation. Being the only CM to have completed the full 5-year term, Siddaramaiah is known for his adminstrative acumen and grip over financial matters - he has presented a record 13 budgets. 

Siddaramaiah is the Congress' biggest mass leader and face of the Ahinda (minorities, backward classes and Dalits). Siddaramaiah's declaration that this will be his last election may also help him garner points on the grounds of seniority. Apparently, Siddaramaiah is believed to enjoy Rahul Gandhi's backing.

Bengaluru, May The BJP Legislature Party meeting scheduled early this week is expected to choose the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly where the saffron party will have 66 members.

Under the present circumstances, a large section of BJP leaders seem in favour of Caretaker Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to become the Leader of the Opposition, a crucial position to corner the government in the Assembly. 

Senior lawmakers R Ashoka (Vokkaliga), Basanagouda Patil Yatnal (Panchamasali-Lingayat) and Karkala MLA V Sunil Kumar (Idiga) are contenders for the position, it is said. 

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of top BJP leaders, Bommai said the party's state president Nalin Kumar Kateel has convened a meeting of new MLAs in the next 3-4 days where various issues would be discussed. 

A senior leader said that Bommai - who belongs to the Sadar section of Lingayats - is in the race to become the Leader of the Opposition due to his experience of handling crucial departments like water resources, finance and home.

“He's a good debater, too. Therefore, he has an edge over others unless the party's central leadership wants to overhaul the state unit entirely and pick fresh faces ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” the leader said.

There are calls within the party to go for a Hindutva face like Yatnal or Sunil Kumar to take on the new Congress government that is expected to overturn several decisions of the previous BJP government such as repealing laws banning cow slaughter and regulating religious conversion.

They may be considered for the position of Deputy Leader of the Opposition, sources said. Even Ashoka and S Suresh Kumar (Brahmin) could be considered, it is said. 

Mangaluru, May 22: A condolence meet in memory of the 158 passengers who lost their lives in the Air India Express crash that happened here on May 22, 2010 was organized today by the Dakshina Kannada district administration, New Mangalore Port Authority and Airports Authority of India at the air crash memorial site in Kuloor, here.

Deputy Commissioner Ravi Kumar M R, MCC Commissioner Channabasappa K and Additional DC Krishnamurthy were among those who paid homage by offering floral tributes.

DK DC Ravi Kumar said that observing the anniversary of the crash was painful. "It is an occasion to remember that all are with the families of the deceased," he said.

Recalling the incident, one of the family members of a victim said “we realised that a mishap has happened only after reaching the airport on that fateful day. By the time we reached the airport, everything was over''.

Air India Express flight IX 812 from Dubai overshot the table-top runway in Mangaluru and plunged into a gorge before bursting into flames.  Only eight passengers survived the crash. Twelve bodies could not be identified. After DNA tests failed, the 12 bodies were buried at the site near Kuloor bridge, adjacent to River Phalguni, and a memorial was constructed.