‘No demand from our side’, says JDS as it formally joins hands with BJP

Mangaluru: Chandrashekhara MK, 33, from Mujoor village of Kadaba, who was arrested after hackers used his credentials to open a bank account and make an illegal transaction in Riyadh, was released from the Saudi Arabian jail on Monday.

In November last year, Saudi Arabian police arrested him for a banking fraud involving SAR 22,000 (approximately Rs 4.8 lakh), after he shared an OTP number with an unidentified person.

Social activist Shridhar Gowda, who helped the family of Chandrashekhara to reach out to the Indian Embassy through people’s representatives, said he reached home via Mangaluru International Airport on Monday evening.

Gowda said that Chandrashekhara was working for Al Fanar Co in Riyadh. “More than a year ago, Chandrashekhara had visited a shop in Riyadh to buy a phone and SIM card. The shop had taken his thumb impression twice and thereafter he received a message in Arabic. Later, he received a call asking him to share an OTP sent to his mobile phone. Without knowing the consequences, he had shared the OTP,” he said.

In November last year, Saudi Arabian police arrested him for a banking fraud involving SAR 22,000 (approximately Rs 4.8 lakh). Finally, with the help of his friends and the company in which he was working, Chandrashekhara could walk out of the jail through a court order,” Gowda added.

Results of assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana came out on Sunday. Of the four states that went to polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won with a comfortable majority in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Congress, on the other hand, dethroned the K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in Telangana. 

Assembly elections 2023 results at a glance

Rajasthan: Vasundhara Raje, Mahant Balak Nath or Diya Kumari?

The buck of 'Who will become Rajasthan's next Chief Minister' is revolving around four names at present. Two-time CM Vasundhara Raje, controversial seer Mahant Balak Nath, Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat are the top four names in fray for the top post in Rajasthan. 

The two-time Chief Minister bagged the Jhalrapatan seat by 53,193 votes ahead of Congress' Ramlal. Vasundhara Raje is hailed as the first woman CM of Rajasthan and has been the BJP's face in the state for more than two decades.

As per media reports, the BJP is not very keen on Raje having a third tenure as the Chief Minister. She, however, is still seen in Rajasthan as someone who challenged patriarchal norms and led a public and private life on her own terms.

Another name that can be considered for the top job in Rajasthan is that of Gayatri Devi's granddaughter and Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari. Previously, she was an MP from Sawai Madhopur. She is known for social work and was initially considered as an outsider in Sawai Madhopur.

Diya Kumari, however, gained popularity in the constituency due to developmental work. She hails from the Rajput community. If the BJP wants to go the Yogi Adityanath route in Rajasthan, then Baba Balak Nath stands a chance. Balak Nath is a Lok Sabha MP from Alwar but has contested from the Tijara seat instead.

He is also hailed as the 'Yogi of Rajasthan' and heads the Baba Mastnath Math in Rohtak. The Math runs a university, hospital, medical college and a school among other key institutions. Baba Balak Nath hails from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. 

Moving away from the firebrand options, the BJP can also appoint Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Shekhawat, who was elected as a Lok Sabha MP from Jodhpur, is being seen as a strong contendor for the CM post. During the election campaign, Shekhawat was mired in a public spat with former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot over the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society Scam. 

Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kailash Vijayvargiya or Jyotiraditya Scindia? 

The BJP won Madhya Pradesh on Sunday with a thumping majority but did not declare who will lead the state critical to ensuring victory in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Among the probable names for the CM post being tossed around are Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Jyotiraditya Scindia. 

Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the longest serving Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh as of now. Chouhan, also hailed as Mama by the electorate, contested the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections 2023 from Budhni, his stronghold since 2006.

The BJP's win in MP can be attributed to welfare schemes such as Ladli Behna and CM Kisan Nidhis initiated by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government.  But the clout held by Jyotiraditya Scindia in the state, especially in the Gwalior-Chambal belt, cannot be sidelined either.

Scindia has actively campaigned in the state. He, however, has maintained that he is not interested in the Chief Minister post. Kailash Vijayvargiya's name is also doing the rounds for Madhya Pradesh CM post. The six-time MP has never lost an assembly election and has been a state government cabinet for more than 12 years. 

He was in charge of BJP's Haryana election campaign in 2014 wherein the saffron party gained a majority in the assembly election. Soon after this feat, he was appointed as the BJP national general secretary by Amit Shah in 2015 and the new BJP leader in West Bengal. 

Chhattisgarh: Raman Singh or Arun Sao?

In Chhattisgarh, the BJP is stuck in a conundrum of whether to give Raman Singh his fourth term as Chhattisgarh CM or to make a change. The possibility of Raman Singh being given the fourth term as the CM cannot be ruled out as he is known for his organisational abilities and implementation of programmes aimed at improving the conditions of SCs and STs in Chhattisgarh.

Singh has been a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2004 and also served as a Minister of State in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in 1999. He was also appointed the National Vice President of the BJP in 2018. 

If the BJP wants a change, it is also likely to pick state BJP chief Arun Sao for the top job. Sao can be considered if the BJP is looking for an OBC face to become the Chhattisgarh CM.

He has represented the Bilaspur Lok Sabha constituency for 3 consecutive terms so far and has strong influence among OBCs. Others who could be considered are Member of State for Tribal Affairs Renuka Singh, former BJP state chief Vishnu Deo Sai and Ramvichar Netam. 

Telangana: Revanth Reddy or Uttam Kumar Reddy?

After defeating the KCR-led BRS comprehensively, the Congress is now faced with the dilemma of 'Who will become the Chief Minister of Telangana'. Three top Congress leaders are in the fray to win the top job in Telangana-- Revanth Reddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu.
As the Telangana Congress chief, 54-year-old Revanth Reddy has been instrumental in leading his party to victory in the southern state. After being appointed as Telangana Congress chief, he was seen on ground leading protest on several issues against the BRS government.

Another candidate that the Congress could consider for the top job is former Telangana Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy. He was replaced by Revanth Reddy as the Telangana Congress chief. Despite this, Uttam Kumar Reddy is massively popular among party workers in the state.

Reddy is a former Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and a Lok Sabha MP from the Nalgonda Constituency. He served as the MLA from Kodad between 1999 and 2009 and from Huzurnagar between 2009 and 2019. 

There are reports of "intense shooting" by Israeli forces east of Khan Younis and Rafah after a four-day ceasefire went into effect on Friday morning.

Al-Jazeera reported that two Palestinians were killed and another was wounded by Israeli soldiers shooting at hundreds of people who tried to return to the north of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Some of those wounded have been evacuated to a hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The Israeli military also warned Palestinians that the "war is not over", telling them not to try to return to homes in the northern part of Gaza, which it described as a "dangerous war zone".

Gaza residents said the Israelis had dropped leaflets warning people not to travel north and have fired over the heads of some people who were trying to get back into Gaza City.

Israeli attacks had raged in the hours leading up to the truce, with officials inside the enclave saying a hospital in Gaza City was among the targets bombed.

Sirens sounded in two Israeli villages outside the southern Gaza Strip, warning of possible incoming Palestinian rockets. The Israeli military also said fighting would resume soon.

"This will be a short pause, at the conclusion of which the war and fighting will continue with great might and will generate pressure for the return of more hostages," Israeli minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant said.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel and the Occupied Territories confirmed the death of one of its aid workers who had worked for more than 20 years for them.

"We are devastated by the killing of our valued colleague Abdellatif Ali Moussa, along with several of his family, in northern Gaza," they said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Israel launched the war on Gaza after Hamas launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm inside the occupied territories on Oct. 7.

At least 14,854 Palestinians, including more than 6,150 children and 4,000 women, have been killed and over 36,000 others injured in the Israeli strikes.

Some 207 health workers and 65 Palestinians are among those killed, while 7,000 Palestinians are still missing.

According to the report, 60 percent of homes in Gaza have either been destroyed or damaged due to the aggression.