ULB polls, a litmus test for political parties in Karnataka

March 7, 2013
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Bangalore, Mar 7: Elections to 208 urban local bodies (ULBs), billed as the semifinals for the ensuing Legislative Assembly polls,?are being held on Thursday.

Around 85 lakh voters, that is 20 per cent of the state's total electorate, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections being held for seven city corporations (excluding Bangalore), 43 city municipal corporations, 65 town municipal councils and 93 town panchayats across the State.

Polling will be held between 7 am and 5 pm and counting of votes will be taken up on March 11.

As many as 10,482 polling stations have been set up of which 3,146 have been declared sensitive or hyper-sensitive. At total of 46,120 polling personnel will manage the election process.

As many as 21,974 candidates are in fray for 4,867 seats in the 208 ULBs. Congress has fielded the highest number of candidates (4,492), followed by BJP (3,954) and the JD-S (3,651).

As many as 85 candidates have been elected unopposed. No nomination papers were received in 24 wards including all the 23 wards in Terdal Town Municipal Council in Bagalkot district and one ward in?Chikkballapur City Municipal Council.

The two new regional parties, the BSR?Congress of former minister B?Sriramulu and the KJP?of former chief minister B?S Yeddyurappa, will be testing political waters for the first time.

The outcome of the poll will reveal the impact of their outfits on the state's political landscape.

Thursday's civic polls will be a litmus test for all major parties. For the ruling BJP, which has a strong hold in urban areas, the elections are crucial to prove its popularity, particularly after Yeddyurappa launched the KJP.

The heads of political parties have been insisting that the outcome of the poll can't be termed as a pointer to the Assembly election results.

High-voltage campaign

The Congress, which launched a high-voltage campaign across the state, is seeing the civic polls as a stepping stone to come back to power in the Assembly and also regain control over its erstwhile strong fortresses.

The JD(S) is making use of the polls to consolidate its influence in the old Mysore belt and also to make inroads into the north Karnataka region.

The declaration of the civic polls had caught all political parties off-guard, particularly with elections to the Assembly due in a couple of months. In the previous elections held in 2007, the Congress had taken the first place winning 1,606 wards followed by the JD(S) with 1,502 wards. The BJP stood third bagging 1,180 of the total 5,007 wards.

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April 29,2024

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Bengaluru, Apr 29: HD Revanna, the father of Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna, has accused rivals of creating a conspiracy out of "old videos", a comment that is likely to raise a bigger row over his son's alleged link to the obscene videos.

A woman yesterday filed a police case against Prajwal Revanna and his father over alleged sexual assault. Prajwal Revanna, the Janata Dal (Secular) MP and grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, has denied the latest allegations and also filed a police complaint over circulation of obscene videos, which he said were morphed.

Prajwal Revanna left for Germany on Saturday morning after voting in the Lok Sabha elections a day earlier.

"I know what kind of conspiracy is going on. I am not someone who'll get scared and run away. They have released something that was 4-5 years old. Expelling him from the party is left to the party high command," HD Revanna said.

When it was pointed out that an FIR has been registered against him too, he said, "There is politics, I don't want to comment. They (Congress) are in government and they will do whatever they want."

"All these things are not just today, the Deve Gowda family in the last 40 years (has been targeted by) Congress. CoD (now CID), Lokayukta probe, we have been facing for the last 40 years... I don't want to react to anything...let them take action in accordance with law," he said, adding that he hasn't spoken to Deve Gowda on the issue.

"Since the special investigation team is looking into the case, I will not react any further," HD Revanna said.

Yesterday, a first information report was filed against the father-son duo on charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the dignity of a woman.

The survivor alleged both sexually assaulted her, and when Revanna's wife was not home, he touched her inappropriately and used to sexually assault her. The complainant alleged Prajwal Revanna also misbehaved with her daughter over a video call. "My daughter blocked his number after repeated calls," the complainant said.

The latest FIR comes when Prajwal Revanna is already in the middle of a controversy after some objectionable videos went viral on social media allegedly involving him.

Prajwal Revanna is seeking a fresh term in the Lok Sabha from as a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate from Hassan.

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News Network
May 4,2024

Mangaluru, May 4: The Mangaluru International Airport was besieged with a harrowing message of terror recently, when an email, purportedly from malevolent elements, menacingly declared the planting of bombs within the airport premises. 

Addressed to the office of the airport authority, the missive, steeped in ominous overtones, bore the ominous signature of a terrorist faction, ominously named 'Terrorizers 111'.

The communication, disseminated in English, ominously detailed the clandestine emplacement of explosives in areas eluding facile detection, accompanied by a chilling warning of their imminent detonation. The threat, ominously looming over not only the infrastructure but also the airborne vessels, portended a catastrophic deluge of bloodshed and loss.

In response to this dire communiqué, airport authorities swiftly engaged the apparatus of law enforcement, dispatching urgent alerts to the vigilant guardians of public safety. Acting upon the dictates of higher echelons, a formal dossier of this menacing correspondence was meticulously compiled, cloaked in the veil of confidentiality to thwart any premature dissemination.

Mangaluru International Airport found itself in grim camaraderie with more than 30 counterparts under the aegis of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private domains, all recipients of this chilling electronic diatribe. A comprehensive net of precautionary measures was swiftly cast, fortifying the bastions of security in anticipation of any nefarious designs lurking within the shadows.

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May 5,2024

Karwar, May 5: What commenced as a mere exchange of words between spouses swiftly transmuted into a calamitous ordeal, resulting in the heartbreaking loss of their innocent offspring. The heart-wrenching incident unfolded in the serene confines of Halamaddy village in the picturesque expanse of Dandeli, nestled within the idyllic expanse of Uttara Kannada district.

In the throes of a fervent dispute with her spouse, the aggrieved wife, succumbing to an overwhelming surge of emotions, callously propelled their tender six-year-old progeny into the somber depths of a nearby canal, thereafter alerting the local populace to her grievous act.

Promptly apprised of the distressing occurrence by concerned bystanders, the authorities were swiftly summoned to the scene to confront the harrowing aftermath.

Responding to the distress call, the diligent officers of Dandeli rural police swiftly converged upon the site where the innocent child had been cast into the unforgiving waters of the canal, subsequently effecting the retrieval of the child's lifeless form. 

Regrettably, it was discerned that a portion of the child's remains had been tragically claimed by the lurking jaws of a predatory crocodile.

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