41.5 pc polling till 1 PM in Chincholi, Kundgol
Bengaluru: An estimated 41.5 per cent of the over 3.8 crore electorate exercised their franchise till 1 PM in the bypolls to Chincholi and Kundgol assembly constituencies.
The polls were by and large peaceful except for some snags reported in VVPATs, which were changed.
There were reports of EVMs developing problems in Chikkanarthi and Yalaguppi in Kundgol. However, the joint chief electoral officer A V Surya Sen refuted them.
Sen said 10 VVPATs in Chincholi and 2 VVPATs in Kundgol were changed. "No snags or stoppage of elections anywhere. All (complaints) were attended to," Sen added.
The bypolls are crucial for both the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance and the opposition BJP with the latter maintaining that a victory for it would boost its numbers in the assembly and have political implications.
The Chincholi bypoll was necessitated by the resignation ofUmesh Jadhav, who quit Congress and joined BJP to contest the recent Lok Sabha polls from Gulbarga, while Kundgol seat fell vacant following the death of Minister C S Shivalli.
There are a total of 17 candidates in the fray in Chincholi and eight in Kundgol segments. The main contest will be between the nominees of the Congress, supported by JDS, and the BJP.
BJP has fielded S I Chikkanagowdar and Umesh Jadhavs son Avinash Jadhav from Kundgol and Chincholi assembly seats respectively. The Congress candidates are Subash Rathod in Chincholi and Kusumavathi, wife of Shivalli, in Kundgol.
There are a total of 1,93,869 voters in Chincholi, while Kundgol has 1,89,444 voters.
Voting is on in 455 polling stations (241 in Chincholi and 214 in Kundgol), where 695 Control Units, 1,051 Ballot Units, 916 VVPATs are being used.
The election results would have its bearing in the coalition government, where both Congress and JD(S) leaders have been airing their differences publicly
There has also been growing clamour within Congress for its leader Siddaramaiah to become Chief Minister once again.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
