Karnataka Election 2023 LIVE: BJP's First List of Candidates for Assembly Polls to be Out Soon

Ahead of assembly elections in the state, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday said that election officers have the authority to search and confiscate materials only after the elections are announced. The court made the announcement as it ordered the release of rice bags seized from a social worker. Ahmed, a resident of Shivajinagar had approached the court after the Returning Officer of the area seized 530 bags of rice of 25 kgs each from his residence on March 19 this year. Read More

As political parties gear up for the crucial Karnataka assembly elections, the ruling BJP on Tuesday released its own version of the Oscar-winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the Telugu film ‘RRR’. In the poll campaign song, the Bharatiya Janata Party has replaced the lyrics ‘Naatu Naatu’ with ‘Modi Modi’ and highlighted the achievements of the saffron party in the state. Read More

Speaking to the media, Karnataka BJP MLA KS Eashwarappa, who announced retirement from the electoral politics, was quoted as saying by ANI, “I spoke about my decision in the Karnataka BJP election committee meeting which was held a few days ago in Bengaluru but party leaders Prahlad Joshi, Nalin Kumar Kateel and others did not accept my decision and that’s why I wrote to party president JP Nadda to accept my decision and allow me to work with more responsibilities to bring back BJP with full majority in Karnataka.”

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to release it first list of candidates by today evening.

The Income-tax department has detected “bogus” expenditure and alleged financial irregularities worth Rs 1,000 crore after it raided some cooperative banks in poll-bound Karnataka sometime ago, the CBDT said Tuesday. The searches at 16 premises of these banks were launched on March 31 as the department suspected them to be “engaged in routing of funds of various business entities of their customers, in a manner, so as to abet them to evade their tax liabilities”. The CBDT said in a statement that cash of more than Rs 3.3 crore and jewellery worth Rs 2 crore was seized during the searches, news agency PTI reported.

Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) chief HD Kumaraswamy has blamed some ‘Shakunis’ for the family war over the Assembly ticket for his sister-in-law Bhavani Revanna from Hassan city — the Gowdas’ fiefdom. HDK, who is known for his one liners and cryptic remarks, obviously did not elaborate further. His statement has made the situation worse for the party as family members are now busy pointing fingers at each other. Some close confidantes of the family are also feeling uncomfortable with HDK’s remarks. Read More

The BJP is fighting the Karnataka elections on a developmental agenda and not on communalism but it is focussing on the Hindus because for the Muslims Siddaramaiah is the leader, Karnataka BJP MP and Union minister Shobha Karandlaje has told News18. In an exclusive interview, she said Muslims have confidence that “we will rule once Siddaramaiah comes back” and accused the former CM of withdrawing cases against the Popular Front of India (PFI) and setting “thousands of terrorists free.” Read More

BJP MLA from Shivamogga KS Eashwarappa writes to BJP National President JP Nadda stating that he has decided not to contest the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.

The BJP is fighting the Karnataka elections on a developmental agenda and not on communalism but it is focussing on the Hindus because for the Muslims Siddaramaiah is the leader, Karnataka BJP MP and Union minister Shobha Karandlaje has told News18.

In an exclusive interview, she said Muslims have confidence that “we will rule once Siddaramaiah comes back” and accused the former CM of withdrawing cases against the Popular Front of India (PFI) and setting “thousands of terrorists free.” READ MORE

Quashing Election Commission’s action on March 19 where officials had seized grocery items from one Ishtiaq Ahmed claiming it to be poll malpractice, the High Court on Tuesday said that no goods can be searched or seized before elections are declared.

Around goods and freebies worth Rs 58 crore were seized before elections were announced in Karnataka.

Gujarat-based dairy cooperative Amul’s announcement on April 5 to enter enter the Karnataka market to supply its milk and curd has given the opposition yet another ammunition to fire at the ruling BJP, much as it came months after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement that the two brands’ cooperation could “do wonders” for the dairy sector. Shah also holds the Cooperation portfolio.

The opposition Congress and the JD(S) have trained their guns at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the state when the assembly elections are just a month away, expressing fears that Nandini, the Rs 21,000 crore brand, from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), could be merged with the Gujarat-based Amul. The people of the state have an emotional connect with Nandini.

The opposition alleges that the BJP wants to merge the 49-year-old KMC’s Nandini with its much elder Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) so that there could be “One nation, one Amul” in the country. The BJP has emphatically rejected the charge

The politics behind Amul versus Nandini, Karnataka’s local dairy brand, is “fake” and Congress is using it to fuel its election campaign, said BJP MP Tejasvi Surya.

In an exclusive interview to News18, Surya said the opposition had to manufacture fake and non-existent issues as it was frustrated over the possibility of losing the upcoming polls on May 10. READ MORE

With assembly elections fast approaching in poll-bound Karnataka, the leaders across party lines are facing the heat of voters over the lack of development works.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Former CM and JD(S) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy was cornered by women voters during his campaign trail in the Ramanagara assembly constituency. Actor-turned-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy will be contesting from Ramanagara where his mother Anita Kumaraswamy is the present MLA. READ MORE

Karnataka | A complaint has been lodged by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Legal Cell with Election Commission alleging that JD(S) candidate, V Narayanaswamy of Gandhinagar assembly constituency is collecting voter cards of locals & intimidating voters in the constituency.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said with the Narendra Modi government bent on “misusing every power” and elections approaching in several key states, her party will take its message directly to people and join hands with all like-minded parties to defend the Constitution.

In an Op-Ed in “The Hindu”, Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Modi and his government of “systematically dismantling” the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, saying their actions demonstrate a “deep-rooted disdain” for democracy. READ MORE

Days ahead of the Karnataka Assembly polls, the Congress on Sunday appointed B N Chandrappa as working president of its state unit.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed Chandrappa working president in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, a party statement said.

The Karnataka unit is headed by D K Shivakumar. The appointment of Chandrappa comes after Karnataka Congress working president R Dhruvanarayana passed away last month.

The dust finally seems to be settling on the ticket row over the Hassan constituency. Not too long ago, it was widely reported that former CM HD Kumaraswamy’s wife and Ramanagara MLA Anitha Kumaraswamy had been granted the party ticket from Hassan. However, Anitha has now cleared the air and refuted the rumours, saying she was not contesting from the seat. READ MORE

It’s not just the Janata Dal (Secular) that is divided on the issue of who should be given the Hassan ticket but also the Deve Gowda household which is equally polarised. At the centre of this family feud is Bhavani Revanna, the JDS patriarch’s elder daughter-in-law who has been dead set on contesting from the Hassan seat, a decision that HD Kumaraswamy is against. READ MORE

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah’s wish to stand from Kolar remained unaddressed as the second list of 42 candidates released by the Congress on Thursday did not have the name of the high-stakes assembly seat. The Kolar candidate is likely to feature in the third list, which will be declared in the next few days, sources said.

In its second list for the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka, the party has given a ticket to over 20 fresh faces and three turncoats, who switched from the BJP and JDS. READ MORE