BJP MP's son and independent MLA Sharath Bachegowda to join Congress
Bengaluru, Feb 18: Independent MLA Sharath Bachegowda on Thursday said he would join the Congress party sometime in February.
Amid speculation that he is joining the party on February 26, Sharath told PTI, "There is no date fixed as such but sometime in February I will join the legislative party of the Congress."
Sharath's entry to the Congress had been on the cards for quite some time but it is now that he has confirmed his next political move.
Sharath had rebelled against his party BJP and successfully contested the Hoskote assembly byelection in December 2019 defeating BJP's M T B Nagaraj.
Nagaraj, a BJP MLC and minister, was among the rebel Congress MLAs who had resigned from the assembly in 2019 bringing down the Congress-JDS coalition government. He joined the BJP later but was defeated in the bypolls.
There were accusations that Bache Gowda helped his son indirectly to win the election but he refuted the charges.
Sharath said he has not informed his father formally about his decision to join Congress.
"Since everything is in the public domain, I did not inform him yet. He must be aware of it," he added.
To a question whether Bache Gowda approved his decision, Sharath said he had to think of his political career.
According to BJP sources, Sharath had tried to make an entry into the BJP but Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and the state BJP leadership did not approve it as they were extremely upset with him for rebelling against the party and defeating their candidate.
The Congress' strength will go up to 68 from the existing 67 in the Karnataka Assembly when Sharath joins the party.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
