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Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said Congress will split in Karnataka after the Lok Sabha elections as the party is unable to find suitable candidates and has given the tickets to family members of the ministers. “Congres will get divided within three months in Karnataka after Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take oath as the Prime Minister for the third time,” he told media persons. Bommai said that dynasty politics has been a hallmark of Congress but this time giving more tickets to the kith and kin of the ministers is for a different reason. “The high command had asked ten ministers to contest the parliamentary polls but they were not confident that they would win. When the central leaders asked them to suggest suitable candidates, they got the tickets for their sons, daughters, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and brother. This would not benefit the party as the voters have decided to vote for PM Modi,” Bommai said. He said that he would d

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President J.P. Nadda, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Ministers — S. Jaishankar, Smriti Irani and Nitin Gadkari — have been named among 40 star campaigners by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka. The candidate list released on Friday by the Karnataka BJP unit includes 10 Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of three states and state leaders. Also Read Only Modi & Shah can solve all problems at national level: ex-PM Deve Gowda Senior BJP leaders in the state who were denied tickets for the Lok Sabha election have been named as star campaigners. The star campaigners will participate in meetings, conventions and roadshows in the state and be a part of campaigning for the BJP. Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai, Karnataka BJP Election in-Charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh each for sharing information leading to the arrest of two key accused, one of them using Hindu names to hide identity, in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. The agency requested the general public for information on the duo — Mussavir Hussain Shazib alias Shazeb alias Md Juned Hussain alias Mohammed Juned Sayed and Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa alias Abdul Matheen Taha alias Matheen alias Taha alias Vignesh D alias Sumit “or any other assumed Hindu name” — wanted in the case, according to its posts on X. Request for Information, Identity of the Informer will be kept Secret. pic.twitter.com/JkMUWay23m — NIA India (@NIA_India) March 29, 2024 Taha, aged about 30 years, has been using Hindu identity documents, forged Aadhaar cards in the name of Vignesh or other similar forged ID documents to conceal identity, the NIA said. The agency shared their pictures and identified men’s/boys’

Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Friday said there are no leaders other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who can solve all the problems at the national level. At the same time, the JD(S) patriarch underlined the need for better coordination between his party and BJP to achieve the target of winning all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. JD(S) joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September last year. As part of the seat-sharing deal in the State, the BJP will contest in 25 constituencies and the JD(S) in three. Noting that the role of former Chief Minister and BJP stalwart B S Yediyurappa was very important, Gowda said he must forget whatever had happened in the past “because the time is very short”. “Our opponents are so strong. Don’t think that we are going to win all the 28 seats unless and until we forget what all had happened in the past and our differences,” the 91-year-old said at a coordination meeting of the two

Lucknow : The Lucknow unit of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the house of a preacher in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district and questioned him for several hours after picking him up in connection with the blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1, senior police officials said. The officials added that the preacher came on the NIA radar as his mobile phone location was found in Karnataka on the day of the blast. They said the NIA team had been camping in Bareilly and raided the preacher’s house in Dhaura Tanda town under the Bhojipura police station limits after tracing his mobile phone location. Also Read NIA arrests key conspirator in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case They added that the preacher was not found at his house and was later picked up from a place of worship and taken to the Bhojipura police station in Bareilly. A senior police official said the NIA team questioned the suspect for around five hours at the police station. The local poli

Bengaluru: Karnataka leader of opposition, R Ashoka, said they held a meeting with Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to discuss the election strategy as the southern state is going to polls in two phases starting on April 26. After the meeting, the BJP leader told ANI on Thursday, “We discussed issues regarding the election strategy and how to organise rallies with HD Kumaraswamy so that we can win 4 constituencies in the Bengaluru region.” Also Read Karnataka: D K Suresh, only incumbent MP, files nomination from Bangalore Rural On the nomination of Congress leader DK Suresh from the Bangalore rural constituency, he said, “Naturally, he (DK Suresh) has filed the nomination but they (Congress) are in fear; they distributed nothing last time but are doing so this time (Cooker and everything)”. The BJP leader expressed confidence that the BJP is winning in Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency, one of the 28 constituencies in the state. “Chie

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained two more suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, sources said on Thursday. The accused were picked up from Bengaluru. Sources said the accused were suspected to be in touch with the bomber and the detained persons were associated with banned Al-Hind Trust. However, the official statement from the NIA is yet to be made. So far no arrests have been made in the blast case. Four persons have been detained, including the two on Thursday. A suspect was detained earlier but was allowed to go after questioning. The sleuths had conducted raids at five locations in Bengaluru, 15 in Shivamogga and six in Chennai on Wednesday. The NIA has identified the main accused in the blast, a native of Shimoga in Karnataka, said sources. There were intelligence inputs from the central agencies about the main accused having stayed in multiple locations in Tamil Nadu along with his aide. The agency had detained two susp

Bengaluru: BJP MLC Tejaswini Gowda submitted her resignation on Thursday here ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. Tejaswini still had three months left as an MLC but submitted her resignation to the Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council, Basavaraj Horatti. Also Read Some Lingayat seers ask BJP to change its Dharwad LS candidate Joshi In her letter, the BJP MLC said that she submitted her resignation out of her own free will and has not yet revealed her next political move. Sources said that Tejaswini is likely to join the Congress. However, she has not yet resigned from primary membership of the BJP. Chairman Horatti said, “MLC Tejaswini Gowda submitted her resignation today, and it has been accepted. She still had three months left as an MLC until June. As per the rules, she can submit her resignation, but it is not compulsory to cite reasons.” Sources said that Gowda was hoping to get a BJP ticket from the Bengaluru Rural or Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha constit

Bengaluru: Five Congress legislators on Wednesday threatened to resign if senior party leader and Minister K H Muniyappa’s son-in-law Chikka Peddanna was given a ticket to contest from Kolar in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, bringing into open the divisions in the outfit. The party is yet to announce its candidate in the segment, currently held by the BJP. The five are opposed to Peddanna’s candidature, which would give representation for the Left sect of Scheduled Castes. The three MLAs from Kolar district — Kothur G Manjunath (Kolar), K Y Nanjegowda (Malur) and MC Sudhakar (Chintamani) — and two MLCs — Anil Kumar and Naseer Ahmed (the political secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah) — want the ticket to be given to a candidate from Right sect of Scheduled Castes. Sudhakar is the Higher Education Minister in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet. S N Narayanaswamy (Bangarapet), another Congress MLA from the district, too said the ticket should be given to the SC Right candidate, and t

Bengaluru : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was on Wednesday conducting simultaneous raids in Bengaluru and Shivamogga district in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. According to sources, the NIA was raiding five locations in Bengaluru city, and some houses in Thirthahalli town of Shivamogga district. The raids were conducted on the suspected persons, who were in direct contact with the bomber and provided him financial assistance, sources said. More details are yet to emerge on the NIA action. Also Read Rameshwaram Cafe blast: NIA detains two suspects in B’luru The agency had detained two suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The preliminary probe revealed that the two suspects were in direct contact with the suspected bomber. Sources said that the raids were being conducted on the basis of information given by these two suspects. Even as the NIA and police teams have launched an extensive search operation

Bengaluru: Election officials have seized undocumented diamond, gold and silver articles valued at around Rs 4 crore in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district. According to police, the valuables were seized at the M.C. Halli checkpost near Tarikere town on Tuesday. Officials seized diamond articles weighing over 1.7 kg, gold around 6.5 kg and 1 kg of silver articles. Also Read Congress leadership change surfaces again in Karnataka ahead of LS polls The seizure was made during the inspection of vehicles at the checkpost from a truck. As the concerned persons failed to produce relevant documents for the valuables, the police seized the articles and took up the investigation. Sources said that the articles were being transported from Bengaluru to Shivamogga. Separately, officers on election duty at the Pillekerenahalli checkpost in Chitradurga seized Rs 20.35 lakh cash on Tuesday. A case has been registered at the Chitradurga Rural police station. Get the latest updates in Hyd

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President, D.K. Shivakumar, on Tuesday visited the Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple and Kukke Subrahmanya Temple in Dakshina Kannada district before starting campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in the state. Shivakumar said that he sought the blessings of Lord Manjunath and Annappa Swamy before starting the ‘Dharma Yuddha’ of elections. Also Read Amid discontent in Karnataka BJP, Yediyurappa says efforts on to resolve issues Interacting with media after offering prayers to Lord Manjunath at the famous pilgrimage centre Dharmasthala, he said, “I seek the blessings of Lord Manjunatha before I start any ‘Dharma Yuddha’. Sri Manjunatha and Gangadhara ajja have been protecting me.” “I am at the abode of Lord Manjunatha, who is known for keeping his word. Similarly, we have also kept our promises and rolled out the five guarantee schemes. We will go before the people of Karnataka and seek their support,” he added. “We

Bengaluru: In the wake of dwindling groundwater levels exacerbated by insufficient rainfall, Bengaluru, the bustling metropolis of Karnataka, is grappling with a mounting drinking water crisis. As the scorching summer descends upon the city, the situation has escalated, with wells, borewells, and lakes progressively drying up, sounding alarm bells for the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). With over 14,000 government-operated borewells dotting the city’s landscape, the groundwater levels in approximately 6,900 of these borewells have already plummeted. Strategic plan In response to this pressing issue, the BWSSB, entrusted with water management, has devised a strategic plan to safeguard the existing groundwater levels in these borewells. Embracing innovative solutions, the BWSSB has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to stem the tide of groundwater depletion. This novel approach entails the deployment of AI and IoT-ena

Bengaluru : Amid simmering discontent within the BJP in various constituencies, following the announcement of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, the party’s veteran leader B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday said efforts are on to resolve all the issues and there are no complications. The former chief minister said he will be visiting Davangere and Belagavi today and March 27 to resolve issues there. “I’m going to Davangere today and to Belagavi tomorrow. We will sit and discuss with our party workers and leaders there and resolve issues. In a way, there are no complications across the state,” Yediyurappa, who is also a member of BJP’s Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, “Our expectation is that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership we have to win all 28 seats, and we are honestly working for it. I’m confident that we will be successful in it.” Also Read BJP will announce candidates for 5 seats on March 22: Yediyurappa

Hyderabad: To mark World Bipolar Day on March 30, the Center for Brain and Mind (CBM) at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS) will hold an art exhibition and a zine-making workshop at the campus’s Center for well-being.  The event includes an art exhibition titled “Explore Bipolar Disorder Through Art,” which invites people to contribute their artistic views of bipolar disorder by submitting original works by March 27. It will explore visual metaphors for the microscopic world as well as the art of creating zines for science storytelling. Also Read This expo is coming back to Hyderabad, this time in Ramzan The zine-making session will be led by Ipsa Jain of the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology in Bengalure. Entry to both events is based on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested people can contact cbm.nimhans@gmail.com to register. World Bipolar Day, marked every March 30, aims to raise awareness of bipolar disorder and

Bengaluru: ISRO on Monday said its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has accomplished zero orbital debris mission, and described it “another milestone”. This was achieved on March 21, when the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) met its “fiery end” through a re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Also Read ISRO’s step towards realising Indian space shuttle ‘Pushpak’ “The PSLV-C58/XPoSat mission has practically left zero debris in orbit,” the space agency said. The PSLV-C58 mission was accomplished on January 1. According to ISRO, after completing the primary mission of injecting all satellites into their desired orbits, the terminal stage of PSLV was transformed into a 3-axis stabilised platform, the POEM-3. The stage was deorbited from 650 km to 350 km, which facilitated its early re-entry, and was passivated to remove residual propellants to minimise any accidental break-up risks, it said. POEM-3 was configured with a total of nine different experimental paylo

Bengaluru : Former Karnataka Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy on Monday rejoined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Gangavati MLA, who is an accused in an illegal mining case, had formed the ‘Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha’ (KRPP) ahead of the state assembly polls last year, snapping his two-decade-old association with the BJP. Reddy today merged his KRPP with the BJP as he, along with wife Aruna Lakshmi and some family members, joined the party in the presence of its veteran leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, state President B Y Vijayendra, and others. Reddy had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Also Read LS polls: BJP fields its state chief Surendran against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad However, in the recently held Rajya Sabha polls he had extended support to the Congress candidate. Before the assembly polls last year, Reddy had been largely politically inactive for nearly 12 years since his arrest by the CBI for an a

Mysuru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, March 24, said giving tickets to the children and relatives of ministers was not dynastic politics but acknowledging the recommendation of voters. In its second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on March 21 announced fielding its national president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law and children of five ministers in Karnataka. “Yes, we have given. We gave tickets to those whom the people of the constituency recommended. This is not dynastic politics but acknowledging people’s opinion,” Siddaramaiah told reporters. He was replying to a query about 10 family members and relatives of Karnataka ministers getting tickets to contest the Lok Sabha polls on behalf of Congress. Also Read Art 370 prevented progressive laws from being extended to J&K: Jaishankar Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani will be in the fray in Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) Lok Sabha constituency. PWD Minister Satis

Bengaluru: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said that there is no guarantee of the Congress government in Karnataka after the Lok Sabha election. Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Joshi said that the Congress is speaking of guarantees all the time. However, there is no guarantee of the survival of the Congress government in the state after the Lok Sabha polls. Also Read Karnataka files writ petition in SC against Centre on drought relief Day-after-day the instability of the government is growing. Mostly, the government will not be in place after the Lok Sabha elections, he stated. The news is already doing rounds that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will have to tender his resignation if the Congress does not win 20 seats. It is not possible for the Congress to win more than five seats in the state after that Siddaramaiah will have to tender his resignation, Joshi stated. If the Congress government won’t be there, what will happen to its guarantees? Joshi questioned. N

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday, March 23, that the state government has filed a writ petition against the Union government for not releasing drought relief to the southern state. The writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution. The apex court has given its endorsement after accepting the petition, CM Siddaramaiah stated. “We are forced to wage a legal battle after waiting for five months. The plea has been submitted requesting the apex court to issue directions for the Central government to immediately release the compensation under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF),” he demanded. Also Read Govt extends ban on onion exports till further orders “We can’t wait. Farmer’s can’t wait and they are demanding subsidy. The government has to release Rs 4,600 crore input subsidy. We have sought a Rs 18,171 crore compensation package under the NDRF. We have pleaded with them,” he stated. The Centre has

Bengaluru: The debate of leadership change has surfaced once again in Karnataka ahead of the Lok Sabha election. Former minister and Congress MLA S.R. Srinivas has said that the Congress should get more seats in the Lok Sabha election. “We have to ensure the Congress gets more seats so that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah continues to serve us as the Chief Minister,” MLA Srinivas said during an election campaign rally in Tumakuru. Reacting to the development, LoP R. Ashoka said the Congress there is infighting in Congress. “There is a gang within the Congress party, which is conspiring to bring down the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah,” he said. He said that Gubbi Congress MLA Srinivas has told the truth. Sources said that following the quashing of the ED case in the disproportionate assets case against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, he is all set to stake claim the Chief Minister’s chair for 2.5 years. Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment

Bengaluru: The OBC Morcha of the Karnataka BJP on Friday lodged a complaint with the State Election Commission against Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar, demanding prohibition on the advertisements, films, and billboards featuring the popular actor. Shivarajkumar’s wife Geetha Shivarajkumar is contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Shivamogga on a Congress ticket. B.Y. Raghavendra, the son of former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, is the BJP candidate from the seat, which will go to the polls on May 7. Also Read BJP using force against Oppn: Shivakumar ‘Karataka Damanaka’, a Kannada movie starring Shivarajkumar, was released recently and is running in theatres across the state. The complaint lodged by BJP OBC Morcha President R. Raghu said, “Shivarajkumar is an influential person who’s campaigning for the Congress across Karnataka. He is a film star who’s also an influencer. Until the Lok Sabha elections are over, an order should be issued to the theaters,

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on Friday said that the BJP is resorting to “forceful suppression” of the Opposition in the fear of losing the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Addressing a joint press conference at the KPCC office along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and AICC General Secretary Surjewala, he said: “The BJP is arresting sitting Chief Ministers, seizing the accounts of Opposition parties and misusing Governors as it fears loss in the upcoming election.” “We are working in a democratic set-up. We enrolled 78 lakh people for the Congress party. We had collected about Rs 90 crores from the party workers. We had also collected Rs 2 lakh each from the MLA ticket aspirants during the Assembly elections which amounted to Rs 20 crore. All that money has been seized by the BJP,” he said. “Our party has only 11 per cent of the contribution from electoral bonds while BJP has got 57 per cent. When we are struggling to pay the employees of the party, the