Karnataka: MLC polls for four seats on Oct 28 under covid shadow

News Network
October 27, 2020

Bengaluru, Oct 27: Karnataka will go for its first elections on Wednesday for four legislative council seats amid the Covid-19 pandemic scare and the recent flood fury in several parts of the state.

The retirement of the four members of the legislative council necessitated the election.

The election should have taken place before June 30.

However, in the wake of the pandemic, it was postponed for an indefinite period. Subsequently, the Election Commission in September decided to conduct the elections on October 28.

These MLC elections are taking place for Karnataka South-East Graduates, Karnataka West Graduates', Karnataka North-East Teachers' and Bangalore Teachers' constituencies, which fell vacant due to the retirement of R Chowda Reddy Thoopalli, S V Sankanur, Sharanappa Mattur and Puttanna respectively.

Forty candidates are trying their luck in the elections in the four seats.

According to the Election Commission, Karnataka South-East Graduates constituency has 1.09 lakh voters who will cast their votes at 187 polling stations.

There are 15 candidates in the fray.

The BJP has fielded Chidanand M Gowda, Congress Ramesh Babu and JD(S) R Chowda Reddy Thoopalli.

In Karnataka West Graduates' constituency there are 11 candidates trying their luck and the fight is between S V Sankanur of BJP and R M Kuberappa of the Congress.

The constituency has 74,268 voters and 146 polling booths.

The Karnataka North-East Teachers' constituency has 29,234 voters who will vote at 147 polling stations.

Five candidates are contesting the elections there but the fight is primarily between Shashi G Namoshi of BJP, Sharanappa Mattur of Congress and Timmaiah Purle of JD(S).

The Bangalore Teachers' Constituency has 22,089 voters who will exercise their franchise at 69 polling booths. The fight is mainly between Puttanna of BJP, Praveen Peter of Congress and A P Ranganath of JD(S).

The election is crucial for the Bharatiya Janata Party as it lacks a majority in the state Legislative Council.

In the council with a strength of 75 members, Congress has 28 members, BJP -- 27 members, Janata Dal (Secular) -- 14 members, one independent, one chairman and four vacant seats.

All those who retired from the council are in the fray again.

The counting of votes will be held on November 2.

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News Network
December 6,2025

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With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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News Network
December 3,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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News Network
December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A 34-year-old fruit and vegetable trader in Mangaluru has reportedly lost ₹33.1 lakh after falling victim to an online investment scam run through a fake mobile app.

Police said the scam began in September, when the victim received a link on Facebook. Clicking it connected him to a WhatsApp number, where an unidentified person introduced a high-return investment scheme and instructed him to download an app.

To build trust, the fraudster asked him to invest ₹30,000 on September 24. The trader soon received ₹34,000 as “profit,” convincing him the scheme was genuine. Over the next two months, he transferred money in multiple instalments via Google Pay and IMPS to different scanner codes and bank accounts shared by the scammers. Between September 24 and December 3, he ended up sending a total of ₹33.1 lakh.

When he later requested a refund of his investment and promised returns, the scammers demanded additional payments, claiming he needed to pay a “service tax” first. Even after he paid a small amount, no money was returned, and the scammers continued pressuring him for more.

A case has been registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.

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