16 candidates file nominations for LS polls in state on 2nd day
Bengaluru, Mar 20: Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late actor-politician Ambareesh, is among 16 candidates who filed their nominations in Karnataka Wednesday for the Lok Sabha polls.
A total of 17 nominations have been received from 16 candidates on Wednesday, poll officials said, adding that cumulative nominations received stands at 28 from 22 candidates.
Nominations filed were two each from Tumkur, Mandya, Bangalore North, Bangalore central, three each from Bangalore Rural and Mysore, and one each from Bangalore south and Chikkaballapur.
With all the three major political parties, the BJP, Congress and JD(S), yet to announce their list of candidates, those who filed nominations on Wednesday were mainly independents and from smaller parties.
Sumalatha filed her nomination as an independent candidate from Mandya, where she is likely to take on Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy as Congress-JD(S) coalition's candidate.
Sumalatha, a popular south Indian actress,visited the Chamundeshwari temple in Mysuru, ahead of filing nomination.
After filing the nomination, she travelled to a venue where a public meeting was organised in a procession in an open vehicle.
A large number of people, mainly Ambareesh's fans, irrespective of their party association, joined the procession.
She was accompanied by her actor son Abishek and personalities of Kannada film industry, including actors Darshan and Yash.
Some people, allegedly Congress workers, took part in the procession with party flag, despite the grand old party denying Sumalatha ticket and lending its support to alliance partner JD(S)' candidate Nikhil.
Addressing the gathering, Sumalatha, declaring that she was daughter-in-law of Mandya, sought support to carry forward her late husband's legacy and association with the people there.
She vowed to be the voice of the people of Mandya in Parliament.
Karnataka will go to the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
While the last date for the filing of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls is on March 26, scrutiny will take place on March 27, last date for withdrawal is March29.
For the second phase polls on April 23, notification will be issued on March 28.
The last date for nomination is April 4, scrutiny on April 5 and the last day for withdrawal is April 8.
Counting of votes and announcement of results for both phases is scheduled for May 23.
In the 2014 general election, the BJP had bagged 17, Congress 9 and JD(S) two seats.
However in the bypolls, the BJP had yielded the Bellary seat to Congress.
The Congress-JD(S) ruling coalition that has decided to fight the polls in alliance will contest 20 and 8 seats respectively.
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UP: Petrol pump manager booked for denying fuel to ambulance; causing man's death
Ballia (UP) (PTI): Police on Saturday registered a case against a petrol pump manager in connection with the death of a 50-year-old man who allegedly could not be taken to hospital in time after a private ambulance was denied fuel.
The case has been filed against Ashok Kumar Bharti, manager of M/s Bhushan Service Station in Tengrahi village, under sections of the Essential Commodities Act, officials said.
According to police, the FIR was lodged following a complaint by Supply Inspector Indresh Kumar Tiwari. During the inquiry, the manager admitted that an ambulance had arrived at the petrol pump around 9.20 pm on April 22 seeking fuel, stating that it had run out of petrol. However, fuel was not provided, citing non-availability, officials said.
The ambulance allegedly remained stationed at the pump for about 15 minutes. However, records showed that the petrol pump had sufficient stock on that day, including 4,595 litres of motor spirit, 4,784 litres of high-speed diesel and 3,475 litres of premium petrol, indicating that fuel was available but not supplied, the FIR said.
District Magistrate Mangla Prasad Singh said an inquiry was conducted under the supervision of the Additional District Magistrate by a team comprising the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Bairia and the District Supply Officer. Based on the findings, directions were issued to register a case.
Circle Officer (Bairia) Mohammad Fahim Qureshi said police have launched a probe and are searching for the accused manager.
Earlier, District Supply Officer Devmani Mishra had said that Chhatthu Sharma (50), a resident of Pandeypur village in Bairia tehsil, fell critically ill on the night of April 22. His family was taking him to the district hospital in a private ambulance when it ran out of fuel on the way.
The family approached a petrol pump near Tengrahi village for fuel, but the operator allegedly refused, citing a shortage. The family claimed that Sharma died on the way as he could not be taken to the hospital in time due to a lack of petrol.
The district magistrate said that CCTV footage confirmed that the ambulance had reached the petrol pump and sought fuel, which was not provided. He added that the pump operator cited low stock, but inspection revealed sufficient stock of petrol and diesel at the outlet.
Officials said that representatives of Indian Oil have also visited the site, and further action against the petrol pump will be recommended based on the findings.
