BJP names candidates for Kundgol and Chincholi bypolls
Bengaluru, Apr 28: BJP Sunday announced the names of former MLA S I Chikkanagowdar and Avinash Jadhav as candidates to contest the Kundgol and Chincholi assembly seats, where by-polls will be held on May 19.
The by-poll to Chincholi was necessitated as Umesh Jadhav quit as Congress MLA and joined BJP to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Gulbarga against veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, while Kundgol seat fell vacant following the death of MLA and Minister C S Shivalli.
Chikkanagowdar, who is said to be a relative of state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, had lost in Kundgol in the 2018 assembly polls to Congress Shivalli by a wafer thin margin of 634 votes.
Chincholi candidate Avinash Jadhav is the son of Umesh Jadhav, whose resignation necessitated the by-polls.
While Umeshs brother Ramachandra Jadhav’s name was earlier recommended by the state BJP core committee to the high command for Chincholi, he is said to have later lobbied for his son Avinash, sources said.
As M R Patil from Kundgol and Sunil Valyapure from Chincholi were also in the race for the candidacy, there is some disgruntlement within the local units of the BJP, which the party leadership is trying to resolve.
Avinash himself met Valyapure on Sunday and sought his support.
Congress has fielded Subash Rathod from Chincholi and widow of C S Shivalli- Kusumavathi as the candidate from Kundgol.
Congress alliance partner JD(S) is supporting the grand old party in this by-poll, which is determined to retain both seats that was under its control.
The outcome of by-polls along with Lok Sabha results is crucial for the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance as it will have a bearing on the longevity of the coalition government, triggering the numbers game in the assembly.
Monday is the last date for filing nominations for the May 19 by-polls, for which the results will be declared on May 23, along with Lok Sabha poll results.
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.
Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
