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Karnataka bypolls: Voting on in 15 seats, BS Yediyurappa needs six or more to retain majority

The make or break bypolls for the BJP government in Karnataka are currently underway in 15 assembly seats. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who is ruling the state with a wafer-thin majority, needs to win at least six of these 15 to save his government and more than six to stabilise the rocking boat.

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Karnataka assembly

The make or break bypolls for the BJP government in Karnataka are currently underway in 15 assembly seats. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who is ruling the state with a wafer-thin majority, needs to win at least six of these 15 to save his government and more than six to stabilise the rocking boat.

Polling began at 7 this morning and will continue till 6 pm. Votes will be counted on December 9. About 37 lakh people are eligible to vote. The bypolls are being held to elect MLAs for the constituencies which fell vacant following the rebellion by 17 MLAs from the Congress and its erstwhile partner Janata Dal Secular (JDS).

The Congress and the JDS had stitched an alliance after the 2018 Assembly polls threw up a fractured mandate.  In the 225-member house, the BJP was the single largest party with 105 seats, followed by 78 (Plus, one of Speaker) for Congress and 37 for JDS. The JDS chief, HD Kumaraswamy, took oath as the chief minister.

However, the coalition government collapsed in July, within 14 months, after the rebel MLAs quit the coalition alleging lack of development in the state and paving the way for the BJP government led by BS Yediyurappa. The Congress-JDS accused the BJP of directing the mutiny. The rebels were threatened, bought and promised ministerial berths, the Congress-JDS combine alleged.

Yediyurappa was on July 26 sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka for the fourth time. Interestingly, he has never completed a full term. His longest tenure as CM was between May 2008 and August 2011 before being forced to resign over corruption charges.

The senior BJP man is hoping these rebels will help him break the jinx.

The bypolls are being held in Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapura, KR Pura, Yashwanthapura, Hirekerur, Ranebennur, Vijayanagara, Chikkaballapura, Hoskote, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagar, KR Pete and Hunsu. Twelve of these were held by the Congress and three by JDS. Two other constituencies — Maski and RR Nagar — are still vacant as bypolls here have been withheld due to separate cases with regard to them pending in the high court.

The BJP has fielded 13 of the 16 disqualified legislators — who joined the party last month after the Supreme Court upheld their disqualification by the then Speaker KR Ramesh but allowed them to contest the bypolls — from their respective constituencies.

The Congress and JDS, which had contested the Lok Sabha as allies, are contesting the bypolls independently. But sources don’t rule out a realignment, in case the ruling BJP fails to garner required number of seats to be in majority. If they decide to have a reunion, the combine would need to win at least 12 seats to form the government.

The Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress government in Maharashtra, which has given confidence to non-BJP parties in other states to explore new combinations and possibilities, has also encouraged both Congress and JD(S) leaders in Karnataka who have dropped enough hints for a post-poll alliance.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is Congress General Secretary in charge of Maharashtra, told reporters, “Look at Maharashtra, where Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have formed a government together. To tell you the truth, our President (Sonia Gandhi) was not in favour of it and wanted us to be in opposition, but the people, parties with progressive thinking told us to look at keeping BJP away from power.”

Former Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara too said there was a possibility for Congress and JD(S) coming together if the situation arises.

He said, “When the results are out, if the Congress wins more seats and BJP gets less, the government will collapse, then we will have two options – either stay away or join hands with JD(S) to form a coalition government again.”

Kumaraswamy, too, said there would be a stable government in the state after the bypolls, but not necessarily that of BJP.

However, his father and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda is exercising caution. The veteran said he would rather work towards strengthening his party and keeping both the BJP and Congress at a distance.

“I have had experience (of running a government) with both the BJP and Congress. Keeping both at a distance, saying ‘namasakara’ to both of them, I will work beyond my limits to strengthen my party,” he said.

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Ahead of Delhi Elections, Arvind Kejriwal launches Revdi Par Charcha campaign to seek feedback on freebies

Arvind Kejriwal said 65,000 meetings will be held across Delhi at micro levels by the AAP leaders and workers.

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Ahead of Delhi Elections, Arvind Kejriwal launches Revdi Par Charcha campaign to seek feedback on freebies

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday launched a campaign with a tagline Revdi Par Charcha to seek public feedback on freebies. The campaign comes ahead of the assembly elections, which is scheduled to be held in February.

Former Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched the campaign with his colleagues at the party office, saying while the opposition calls freebies as revdi, the party calls it services. This campaign will start on November 25 and will continue for 15 days until December 10, discussing the issues with common man.

Notably, the opposition has been targeting the AAP for providing free electricity, water and free public buses for women among other facilities. However, AAP feels freebies help citizens live a life of dignity.

Gopal Rai, AAP’s Delhi unit chief, said that so far, politicians used to enjoy the facilities, while citizens paid taxes. He continued that Arvind Kejriwal’s government decided that the people should also get the facilities like the politicians, adding the BJP called their attempt revdis. He said that AAP is launching the ‘Revdi Par Charcha’ campaign to discuss with the people in the city if the government should provide the facilities or not.

Launching the campaign, Arvind Kejriwal said 65,000 meetings will be held across Delhi at micro levels by the AAP leaders and workers. He said that AAP has six revdis for the people of Delhi. Mentioning that the Prime Minister and BJP have said several times that Kejriwal is providing freebies to the people that should be stopped, the former Chief Minister said that now people will now tell them if they want these six freebies.  He further concluded that if the BJP is elected here, they will stop these services immediately.

While listing the six services, the AAP national convenor said that Delhi is getting free electricity round the clock. He added that there was a time when Delhi used to see power cuts for 8-10 hours, but AAP ensured that the situation changed. He also noted that his party is providing free water, free pilgrimage to senior citizens, free bus rides to women, free world-class education and free medicine and treatments. Additionally, the pamphlet launched by Arvind Kejriwal also listed that soon the women in Delhi will get Rs 1,000 per month as well, later termed as the seventh revdi by the former Chief Minister.

Reports said that the paper will be circulated across the national capital. The paper also reads that if the reader feels they are getting huge water bills, they should not pay it. It mentioned that AAP will waive all water bills once Arvind Kejriwal is re-elected.

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Rahul Gandhi says air pollution in North India a national emergency, tourism declining, global reputation crumbling

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the air pollution in North India is a national emergency that needs a collective national response and not a political blame game. The Congress leader added that due to air pollution tourism is declining and “our global reputation is crumbling”.

It is a public health crisis that is stealing children’s future and suffocating the elderly, Gandhi said, adding an environmental and economic disaster that is ruining countless lives.

“As Parliament meets in a few days, MPs will all be reminded of the crisis by our irritated eyes and sore throats. It is our responsibility to come together and discuss how India can end this crisis once and for all,” the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

The former Congress chief said the poorest “among us suffer the most”, unable to escape the toxic air surrounding them. Families are gasping for clean air, children are falling sick, and millions of lives are being cut short, he added.

The Rae Bareli MP noted that the pollution cloud covers hundreds of kilometres. He said cleaning it up will require major changes and decisive action from governments, companies, experts, and citizens.

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

Gandhi also shared a video on a social media platform where he discussed the capital’s air pollution with environmentalist expert Vimalendu Jha. In the video, the Congress leader said he has been facing eye-burning and breathing issues and how the last week in Delhi has been terrible.

He said, “I tell my mother to leave town this month.” Jha explains to Gandhi that the sources of air pollution in Delhi are episodic and perennial. Episodic sources are firecrackers and stubble burning, which affect the month of November. “Vehicular contributes 50 per cent of Delhi’s pollution and construction-related roadside dust is another 30 per cent,” Jha said.

The Air Quality Index in Delhi has been severe since November 16, making it five consecutive days till Wednesday. On November 15, the average AQI was 396 (very poor).

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

Indian Navy officials on Friday said that an Indian fishing vessel with a crew of 13 collided with an Indian Naval submarine near the Goa coast. 

Following the incident, a massive search and rescue operation has been launched by the Indian Navy, which has deployed six ships and aircraft. Reportedly, while 11 crew have been rescued, two are still missing.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement and said that the vessel, Marthoma, collided with a Scorpene-class submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast. It added that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two are underway and are being coordinated with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC). It further mentioned that additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts.

The statement said that the cause of the incident is being investigated. Notably, Scorpene-class submarines are a major part of India’s naval power in the Indian Ocean as they can undertake multifarious types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.

Reports said that the state-of-the-art technology utilised for the construction of the Scorpene-class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons. Furthermore, the attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on the surface.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy in its statement said that 13 crew members were aboard the fishing vessel at the time of the collision. It added that while 11 crew have been rescued so far, two fishermen are still reported missing.

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far. He stated that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two crew members of Marthoma are in progress and are being coordinated with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai. Additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts, he continued.

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