Ahead of K'taka polls, Mallikarjun Kharge calls meeting of state Congress leaders in Delhi tomorrow
Bengaluru, Dec 11: As assembly elections in Karnataka are due in the next few months, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of the party's senior leaders from the state on Monday in New Delhi, to discuss the preparations and the strategy for the polls.
According to a party functionary, 14 leaders from the state, including Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar, and state Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, among others will be attending the meeting at the AICC office in the national capital.
Amid signs of factionalism within the state unit, Kharge is likely to instruct the party leaders to work in a united manner for ensuring victory, the functionary said, adding that discussions are likely to take place regarding preparations, tour plans, preliminary discussions regarding candidate selection, among others.
Confirming former chief minister Siddaramaiah's attendance at the meeting, his office in a statement said the Leader of Opposition in the assembly will be travelling to Delhi tomorrow to attend a meeting of state party leaders called by the Congress President at 2 pm.
Addressing a mega rally of party workers in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Kharge had urged party leaders from the state to unitedly face the election, and asserted that the high command will decide as to who will become the chief minister and ministers, on winning the polls.
He had also asked Congress workers and leaders to travel across the state and attract people towards the party, like the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi do.
The AICC chief's strong call for unity has come, as Congress appears to be faction ridden, especially with its top two leaders -- Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah -- nursing Chief Ministerial ambitions in the event of the party coming to power, and are indulging in a game of political one-upmanship.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
