Karnataka Election LIVE: Factional Fight in Congress Worries CM Siddaramaiah

The Congress faces internal rebellion as different factions bat for their candidates ahead of the declaration of first list of candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah worried is worried after factionalism in Bellary, Bengaluru city and Belgaum district units. The Congress is expected to finalise the list of candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections by April 15.

Krishna, a Fulbright Scholar, won his first Assembly election in 1962 on a Praja Socialist Party (PSP) ticket from Maddur. As an MP, he joined the Congress in early 1970s and rose to prominence in the party.

The Karnataka unit of Congress has attacked the BJP and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after An 18-year-old woman alleged that she was raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brothers. The woman’s father died in police custody on Monday prompting her to charge that he was killed inside jail at the behest of Sengar. “BJP’s star campaigner @yogiaditynath is missing in Karnataka as he is busy saving rapists in his state,” the Congress tweeted. Meanwhile, the Congress is expected to finalise the list of candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections by April 15. The nomination process begins on April 17. 

FLASH | H D Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna agrees to campaign for Janata Dal (Secular). He was upset over denial of ticket to him. Gowda has promised him his Lok Sabha seat Hassan in 2019. After several rounds of talks, he agrees to campaign. He will be touring the state in a special vehicle from tomorrow

The Congress screening committee is against renominating N A Haris from Shanthinagara in Bengaluru. A youth Congress leader, Haris, became MLA in 2008 from Shanthinagara -- a Muslim, Christian and Dalit dominated seat in eastern part of the city. He won a second consecutive term in 2013. Haris, who has cultivated contacts in New Delhi, never bothered to have a good relationship with his partymen in Bengaluru. This mistake may cost him his MLA post this time. NA Haris's son Mohammad Nalapad allegedly assaulted a student in a cafe in the Bengaluru over a petty quarrel.

Congress will take some more time to release the name of its candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018. Sources said all names will be cleared by April 15. 

BS Yeddyurappa takes an auto ride ahead of his campaign meeting with auto rickshaw drivers today. 

'BJP TRYING TO POACH' | "BJP is facing a shortage of candidates in Karnataka. They are eyeing our candidates in some seats," alleges JDS state chief H D Kumaraswamy. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Parameshwar, Dinesh Gundu Rao, S R patil, ramalinga reddy, kc venugopal, DK Shivakumar, KJ George are in New Delhi for the screening committee meeting today afternoon. The Congress central election committee meeting will take place tomorrow. Most likely, Congress will release its first list within 12th or 13th

Followers of BJP's N R Ramesh who has been denied a ticket from Chikpet in Bengaluru observe a bandh in the constituency. Several areas shut... Sources said that one of his followers tried to commit suicide. Another aspirant Ramachandra from Bengaluru's R R Nagara has convened a meeting of his supporters. He has been denied ticket.

The BJP’s first list of 72 names for the Karnataka Assembly elections does not feature any Muslim, Christian or Jain, candidate. The list has 21 Lingayat, 10 Scheduled Caste, 10 Vokkaligas, 19 OBC, 6 Scheduled Tribe, 5 Brahmin and one Kodava candidate. Most of the 72 are party veterans while three new entrants from other parties who were promised tickets have been given their due. The BJP ticket aspirants who did not make it to the first list are at chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa's house demanding seats.

 Sources said the Reddy brothers from Bellary are also putting pressure on Yeddyurappa as they want a ticket for Somashekhara Reddy from Bellary City. He is a former BJP MLA and Janardhana Reddy's younger brother.

The Bharatiya Janata Party released a list of 72 candidates on Sunday for May 12 Karnataka Assembly polls. The BJP top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, met to finalise the candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Eelctions 2018.

Sundara Devinagara was welcomed to the BJP at a function in the morning by U Rajesh Naik, who is to contest from Bantwal constituency against state Forests Minister B Ramanath Rai.

one of the names that stand out is B Srimalu who recently joined the party. There was considerable opposition  to party allowing and then giving him a ticket as he is considered close to the tainted Reddy brothers from Bellary, mining barons.

The BJP has released their first list of for the Karnataka Assembly Elections. the first list has 92 names, with no big surprises as most sitting MLAs have been given tickets. Three leaders who recently joined the party from other outfits have also been accomodated.

Pointing at the opposition unity efforts in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and by the DMK, the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in Tamil Nadu, Rahul Gandhi asked,

Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the forget the BJP winning the 2019 polls, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi might lose his Varanasi seat under a united opposition. Exuding confidence over roping in and managing alliance partners despite their varied personal and regional aspirations, Gandhi predicted for the current ruling dispensation, a "collapse" not "seen in many years". 

Congress president Rahul Gandhi during his interaction with Pourakarmikas (sanitation workers) in Bengaluru said that his party, if voted to power at the Centre, would learn from Karnataka on how to reward sanitation workers. When Gandhi asked the sanitation workers about their expectations from the government in the next five years, they unanimously demanded that they should be regularised. They, however, thanked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for increasing their salaries from Rs 7,500 per month to Rs 18,000.

People have been filing in at palace grounds, Bengaluru for Rahul Gandhi's rally. A large crowd has gathered.

Failing to curb growing Drug Mafia in B'luru has been one of many failures of the Siddaramaiah govt.

City is now infamously identified as drug capital of south India.

Will Rahul at least address drug problem in Bengaluru? Or is it wrong of us to expect this from him?

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 8, 2018

The BJP has gone on the offensive against the Congress government in the state. Sharing a news story about comapnies moving away from Bengaluru because of poor infrastructure on the Twitter handle of the party's state unit, it accused both Congress president Rahul Gandhi and state Chief minister Siddaramaiah of lying about creating jobs in the when in fact jobs were leaving Karnataka.

Companies are moving away from Bengaluru citing dismal infrastructure, traffic jams, erratic power supply, congested industry clusters, & what not!

Will Rahul hold Siddu accountable before he begins his usual lies on 'HAL, jobs & stuff'? https://t.co/18NN2v1lzd

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 8, 2018

Rahul Gandhi interacting with reporters in Bengaluru

BSY ATTACKS RAHUL | Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa lists failures of the Siddaramaiah government.

BSY tweets: Rahul Gandhi, today your local leaders made you shake hands and take pictures/selfies with Pourakarmikas. But in reality your party government has done least to make their lives better. Here is a glimpse of what has been happening in Karnataka:

* CM Siddaramaiah claims himself as a champion of Dalits. But is he blind to see people are dying in manholes and pits in Karnataka?

* The Socio-Economic & Caste Census of 2011 says that 90% of the 16,362 manual scavengers are from Karnataka. 68 people have died while cleaning manholes in the recent years. Two people had died while cleaning a manhole in front of Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya’s house in Bengaluru. 

* Manual scavenging led to 6 deaths in the beginning of 2018 itself in Bengaluru, the tech city. 

* Social Welfare Minister Anjaneya had expressed his intention of legalizing manual scavenging. How can legalizing a dangerous and inhuman system can be an answer to any problem?

* Why Siddaramaiah is talking about welfare of Dalits when he has utterly failed implement the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in letter and spirit. Stop manual scavenging and respect Dalits.

Rahul bought — A History of God by Karen Armstrong, The Art of Living by Thich Nhat Hanh, The Goat Thief by Perumal Murugan, Ikigai by Francesc Miralles and The Miracle of Mindfulness of Thich Nhat Hanh:

Rahul travelled from Vidhan Soudha to MG road station. There, he got off and visited a bookstore:

A fellow traveller clicks a selfie with Rahul Gandhi in Namma Metro:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, along with CM Siddaramaiah takes a ride in Bengaluru's Namma Metro: