CM's post was promised in Shah's presence, can't stand being called liar: Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai, Nov 8: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday slammed ally BJP for trying ‘to prove him a liar', claiming that it had agreed to share the chief minister's post in Maharashtra during his talks with Amit Shah.
He would fulfill the promise made to his father, late Sena founder Bal Thackeray, to install a Shiv Sena chief minister in the state, and does not need Devendra Fadnavis or Shah for this, Uddhav Thackeray said.
Thackeray addressed the media soon after Chief Minister Fadnavis handed over his resignation to Maharashtra Governor, and was asked to continue as caretaker CM.
Reacting strongly to Fadnavis's claim that there had been no agreement on sharing the chief minister's post for two-and-half years, Thackeray again and again said that he was hurt that the BJP tried to portray him as a liar.
He did not hold talks with the BJP after the Assembly poll results came in on October 24 as he could not tolerate being called a liar, he said.
The Sena chief also denied Fadnavis's claim that Sena leaders targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He did not attack Modi but criticised the NDA government from time to time over policies, Thackeray said.
There has been no headway in government formation in the state even a fortnight after Assembly poll results were announced on October 24.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are locked in a tussle over the chief minister's post, resulting in a stalemate despite the poll results giving the saffron alliance a combined seat strength of 161, way past the 145 majority mark in the 288- member House.
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38.23% voter turnout during the first half of the day in 14 LS segments in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): An estimated 38.23 per cent turnout was reported during the first half of the day in Karnataka, where the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in 14 of 28 constituencies is underway on Friday.
According to election officials, 38.23 per cent of the electorate in Karnataka had cast their vote till 1 PM. Voting began at 7.00 am and will end by 6.00 pm.
Out of 14 segments that are going to the polls today, the highest turnout of 48.10 per cent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur 46.43 per cent, and the least 30.10 per cent in Bangalore Central.
The turnout was 31.51 per cent in Bangalore South, and 32.25 per cent in Bangalore North.
In the first phase, the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance in (NDA) in September last year, in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar.
Besides those three, the segments where elections are being held on Friday are Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkaballapur.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and in power in the state back then, had secured just one seat each in these 14 segments. The BJP had won in 11 and ensured the victory of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya.
On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar along with his family cast his vote at Doddalahalli in Kanakapura of Ramanagara district. Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh also cast her vote.
Cricketing legend Anil Kumble, Ayodhya Ram Mandir's Ram lalla sculptor Arun Yogiraj and former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde were among prominent persons who cast their votes during the day, along with IT industry veterans Kris Gopalakrishnan and Mohandas Pai.
Biotechnology veteran Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon, after casting her vote, in a post on social media platform X said, "As a responsible citizen of our great country, I have cast my vote. Jai hind"
Film stars Upendra, Shivarajkumar and Sudeep too exercised their franchise during the first half of the day.
