Bypolls: BJP leader CP Yogeeshwara confident on getting Channapatna ticket
Channapatna (Karnataka), Oct 16: BJP leader C P Yogeeshwara on Wednesday said he will be the joint candidate of the BJP-JD(S) alliance for the upcoming Channapatna Assembly bypolls, and expressed confidence that leaders of both parties will announce his name soon.
He however indicated that he may go by the decision of his supporters and workers, in the event of not getting the ticket.
This even as Union Minister and JD(S) State president H D Kumaraswamy recently said that there is pressure to field JD(S) youth wing president and his son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy.
Channapatna will go for by-polls along with Sandur and Shiggaon on November 13.
"I will contest as the alliance candidate in the Channapatna bypolls. As per my information, the BJP and JD(S) leadership together will finalise my name. I'm confident that I will be in the fray as the alliance candidate," the BJP MLC said.
Speaking to reporters here, after meeting with his supporters, he said leaders of both parties have almost finalised his name after discussions, and his name will be declared probably in a couple of days.
"I'm saying this based on the information I have, I have spoken earlier with Kumaraswamy several times, I'm in touch with JD(S) leaders and also BJP leaders. I have spoken to them. I will get the ticket," he added.
The JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year, and the two parties contested the Lok Sabha polls in an alliance.
Channapatna bypoll is necessitated as the seat fell vacant following the election of its representative -- H D Kumaraswamy -- to Lok Sabha from Mandya parliamentary segment.
Noting that in all the surveys his name has appeared at the front, Yogeeshwara said, "if ticket has to be given on priority, I should be given. I'm confident that I will be given the ticket." Conceding that there is anxiety among his supporters and workers that he may be denied ticket if the seat is ceded to JD(S), he said, he doesn't want to react now. "If ticket is not given, a decision will be taken based on what our workers decide, But, I don't think there is a need for me to decide in a haste..." Pointing to his efforts to build the BJP in the region for the past fifteen years, Yogeeshwara said, "I feel with me BJP can grow further in the region...." Noting that he is working under the BJP flag and will abide by the party decision, he however said, he will also have to listen to his supporters and workers.
Yogeeshwara had earlier said that in case he fails to get a ticket, he will contest as an independent.
Kumaraswamy's actor-turned-politician son Nikhil Kumaraswamy's name has been doing the rounds for some time now. Nikhil had lost the 2023 Assembly polls from neighbouring Ramanagara Assembly segment.
Kumaraswamy had won the Channapatna seat in 2018 and 2023. Before that Yogeshwara had represented the seat from BJP and Samajwadi Party. He had earlier also represented the seat both as an independent and from the Congress.
There are ndications that either Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar or his brother D K Suresh, a Congress former MP who lost from Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment, may be fielded in Channapatna, from the grand old party.
"D K Brothers" are hoping to regain lost grounds in the region, after the Lok Sabha poll debacle here.
A section of state BJP leaders have reportedly backed Yogeeshwara's candidacy and informed the same to the party high command.
Kumaraswamy doesn't want to cede the seat that he had represented and which has become his political turf, to Yogeeshwara or BJP, according to JD(S) sources.
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'Brand Bharat' is statement of authenticity; of being Vishwa Bandhu, says EAM
New Delhi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday extolled the idea of 'Brand Bharat' and said it is "statement of authenticity" in representation, articulation or beliefs, and equally a message that "we are now more comfortable in our own skin".
In a virtual address at India Ideas Conclave, he also underlined that it is also the "brand of Vishwa Bandhu" as on the big stage, a "multi-vector approach" engages the Quad and BRICS, Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran and the Global North and Global South.
Nations, like people, enterprises or services, have a reputation. When deeply entrenched into consciousness and easily recognisable, that becomes a brand. Obviously, it is related to the merits of the product and its track record, he said.
"When it comes to a country, the national brand is obviously a fusion and aggregation of different facets of its life. On the global stage, it is much more an integrated positioning of a multiple endeavors. We, in the world of diplomacy, have that responsibility. My thoughts today are about how we discharge that for an India that is more Bharat," Jaishankar said.
In his address, the external affairs minister encapsulated the journey of India from freedom struggle to gaining independence and the course the country took in the succeeding decades.
"Our initial decades after independence saw us struggling with the brand challenge. Given the ground situation, this was not unsurprising. A society recovering from two centuries of colonialism obviously had to painstakingly build itself up, creating new capabilities, institutions and practices," he said.
But at the end of the day, India entered the next century "intact as a polity, energetic as an economy and optimistic as a society".
"None of that could have been taken for granted and some, in fact, failed to make it," he underlined.
The Union minister, who virtually addressed the conclave hosted by India Foundation, lamented that earlier the country, at the global level, was "seen as sizeable player about whom there was limited expectation", and said, however, the last decade has seen a "big shift" in that regard.
"Economically, we are now perceived as much easier to do business. The transformation underway in infrastructure is also increasingly appreciated.
Whether it is the airports, metros, highways or railways, the achievements of the last decade stand out even by global standards. Perhaps, nothing has been more impactful than our embrace of digital technologies," he added.
Jaishankar then went on to expound what is 'Brand Bharat'.
"Bharat is a statement of authenticity, be it in representation, articulation or beliefs. Even our economic energies required a connotation of Atmanirbharta in that background," he asserted.
"It is equally a message that we are now more comfortable in our own skin, drawing on our own past, fashioning our own lexicon and advancing our own ideas," the Union minister added.
He said while recognising these developments, let us also realise that "we are not just one more country".
"Our history, tradition, culture and heritage makes us stand out. We are one of the rare ancient civilisations that have made a successful transition to a nation state. In the past, when our overall standing was less, perhaps this did not count for that much. But when juxtaposed with our achievements in so many fields, it now assumes very different connotation," Jaishankar added.
It is in this context that "we should reflect on Brand Bharat. The very term captures the civilisational aspect, while underlining how much more rooted we have become", he said.
"In a world asserting its independence from a globalised elite, it is an effort to engage the world more on our terms. The formulation of standing on the two legs of technology and tradition is one effective way of expressing Brand Bharat," Jaishankar said.
Coming from the domain of diplomacy, India naturally seek to advance that brand in more specific terms. That means defining how Bharat approaches the world, he said.
"There are a range of answers. The Global South sees a powerful advocate and the driver of Vaccine Maitri. Neighbours recognise a generous and non-reciprocal partner who stood by them during Covid, financial meltdowns or natural disasters. Democracies appreciate a confident partner whose choice has helped universalise their shared attributes," the minister asserted.
"The immediate region and beyond value an emerging 'first responder' and contributor to global goods. And on the big stage, a multi-vector approach engages the Quad and BRICS, Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran and the Global North and South. This is the brand of Vishwa Bandhu," he said.
