Congress leads in MP assembly bypolls
Bhopal: The Congress on Wednesday took a lead in both Mungaoli and Kolaras assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Following the third round of counting in Kolaras, Congress candidate Mahendra Singh Yadav is ahead of Devendra Jain of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 1,280 votes; whereas, in Mungaoli, Congress' Brijendra Singh Yadav is leading with 1,373 votes against BJP's Bai Sahib.
Turning the tables in Mungaoli, Congress took the lead from the BJP after the second round of counting of votes that began at 8 a.m.
A total of 22 candidates from Mungaoli and 13 from Kolaras were in the fray for the February 24 polls. There was 77.25 per cent voting recorded in Mungaoli and 72.82 per cent in Kolaras on Saturday.
The BJP that has been in power for 15 years in the state pitched for development in the Congress bastion. Having lost two assembly bypolls to the Congress last year, the BJP is keen on recovering lost ground.
The assembly seats fell vacant after the death of sitting Congress MLAs Mahendra Singh Kalukheda (Mungaoli) and Ram Singh Yadav (Kolaras).
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Ready to face no-confidence motion, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Hassan (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the Congress government led by him was ready to face the no-confidence motion if moved by the opposition during the legislature session from December 8.
With Deputy CM D K Shivakumar by his side, he reiterated that they would both abide by the high command's decision on the leadership issue.
"Let them (opposition) bring in a no-confidence motion or adjournment motion or any other motion. We are ready to face it. Ours is an open book, transparent government. We are ready to face anything," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
However, BJP state President B Y Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka, clarified that the party, along with the JD(S) has not discussed or decided anything so far regarding moving a no-confidence motion against the government.
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The winter session of the Karnataka legislature will begin in Belagavi, bordering Maharashtra, on December 8 and will go on till 19th of this month.
Not wanting to react to a question on the leadership issue, the CM said the Congress high command is very strong.
"D K Shivakumar and I will be committed to whatever the high command decides," he said.
Earlier in the day in Bengaluru, Shivakumar accompanied AICC Mallikarjun Kharge till airport from Vidhana Soudha, after paying tributes to B R Ambedkar on his 69th death anniversary, which had led to some speculation about possible discussion between the two on the leadership issue.
The power tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculation about a change in chief minister in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20.
However, both the CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each others residences, on the instructions of the high command, which is seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.
