Deve Gowda ends suspense, to contest from Tumkur
Bengaluru, Mar 23: Ending days of suspense, Janata Dal (Secular) Saturday said its National President and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda will contest the Lok Sabha poll from Tumkur.
The 85-year-old JD(S) patriarch had earlier expressed doubts about contesting the polls, saying he was thinking about his "usefulness" in the national capital.
"Former PM and JDS National president H D Deve Gowda will contest from Tumkur Parliamentary constituency as JD(S)-Congress combined candidate," JD(S) Spokesperson Ramesh Babu said in a statement.
Gowda will file his nomination on March 25, he said, adding that JD(S) and Congress leaders will be present on the occasion.
Gowda ceded the Hassan seat that he had been representing to his grandson Prajwal Revanna.
Amid doubts about Gowda contesting the polls, as he had earlier indicated he would not, there was speculation that he may contest from Bangalore North.
Though there was pressure within JD(S) for their party supremo to contest from Bangalore North, it was apprehensive about Congress' complete support there as most party's MLAs there are considered close to Gowda's bete noire Siddaramaiah.
It was feared that the MLAs may seek to take revenge for the former Chief Minister's defeat from Chamundeshwari in the 2018 assembly polls.
Interestingly, JD(S)' announcement on Gowda's constituency comes on a day when Congress' sitting Member of Parliament from Tumkur S P Muddahanumegowda Saturday said he would file his nomination on Monday as the party candidate.
Muddahanumegowda's decision goes against the seat sharing arrangement reached between the Congress and JD(S), according to which Tumkur seat has gone to the regional party.
If Muddahanumegowda contests from Tumkur as a rebel, it will add to the Congress-JD(S) coalition worries as the alliance is facing backlash at several places,including Mandya and Hassan, with party workers unhappy with the seat arrangements.
In Tumkur, there is simmering discontent within the Congress' local leadership about ceding the seat to JD(S), despite party having a sitting MP there.
For the coalition to emerge as a formidable opposition to BJP and win more number of seats, it is crucial for the Congress to transfer its votes to JD(S) and vice-versa, including Mandya.
BJP has fielded G S Basavaraj as its candidate from Tumkur.
Gowda's other son and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil is the candidate from the JD(S) bastion of Mandya.
The Congress and JD(S), that had bitterly fought against each other ahead of May 2018 assembly polls, decided to join hands to form a coalition government as the election threw up a hung verdict.
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2 detained after comment over wedding procession to Dalit house sparks clash in UP's Shahjahanpur
Shahjahanpur (UP) (PTI): Two persons have been detained after a clash broke out allegedly over remarks targeting a Dalit family's wedding procession in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district, police said on Saturday.
The incident occurred in Lai Kheda village under Tilhar police station area, where a wedding procession from Bareilly had arrived at a Dalit household on April 20.
According to SP Saurabh Dixit, when the procession was near the house of Rajpal Yadav, he allegedly made a remark saying "Now, Dalits will also take out wedding processions riding a buggy", leading to an argument. Yadav's side allegedly turned aggressive, escalating the conflict further.
Police said a scuffle ensued between the two sides. Upon receiving information, police personnel reached the spot and ensured that the procession was conducted peacefully after the incident.
An FIR was registered on Friday against Rajpal Yadav, Sumit, Amit, Surendra, Avdhesh Yadav and five unidentified persons based on a complaint. Rajpal Yadav and his son Sumit have been taken into custody and are being questioned, Dixit said.
The case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said.
Dixit said preliminary findings suggest that Yadav, too, was hosting a function and processions from both sides had arrived around the same time. A dispute may have initially arisen due to a narrow passage and attempts to move the processions quickly.
Police have registered the case under relevant sections of the BNS and initiated further probe, officials said.
