BJP shortlists three candidates for Bengaluru Rural LS constituency
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP has shortlisted three candidates for Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency for the upcoming polls, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka said on Friday.
"We have a strong candidate to contest from Bengaluru Rural. We have recommended three candidates. One among them will contest (on a BJP ticket)," the former Deputy Chief Minister told reporters.
He said the one contesting from Bengaluru Rural will be a surprise candidate.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh is representing this constituency for three consecutive terms.
The BJP swept the 2019 general elections in Karnataka winning 25 of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats.
Karnataka is the most important state in the south for the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Karnataka is the only State in the south where the party had held power.
Ashoka said the list of BJP candidates for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka would be released soon as the discussions on finalising nominees have reached final stages.
Deliberations are continuing on some "problematic constituencies," he added.
Regarding Mandya constituency, where the BJP backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh won in 2019 and staked a claim for party ticket this time, he said he has no information on who will be fielded from there.
According to sources, BJP's ally, the JD(S), is keen to field its candidate in Mandya.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
