Jan 16: 34,047 COVID-19 cases, 13 fatalities in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Jan 16: Karnataka on Sunday added 34,047 fresh infections and 13 deaths to its COVID-19 tally, the Health Department said. The number of new cases so far is 32,20,087 and the death toll 38,431.
A bulletin said 5,902 people were discharged and took the total number of recoveries to 29,83,645. Active cases stood at 1,97,982.
Bengaluru urban district saw most of the cases with 21,071 infections and five deaths.
Other districts too saw fresh cases: 1,892 in Mysuru, 1,373 in Tumakuru, 1,171 in Hassan, 782 in Dakshina Kannada, 722 in Bengaluru Rural and 709 in Mandya.
There were two deaths in Dakshina Kannada and one each in Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Kalaburagi, Mandya, Mysuru and Ramanagara.
There were zero fatalities in 23 districts.
The positivity rate for the day was 19.29 per cent and the case fatality rate 0.03 per cent.
A total of 1,74,470 samples were tested in the State and they included the 1,42,652 RT-PCR tests today. This took the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 5.9 crore.
There were 37,086 people who got inoculated and they took the total vaccinated till now to 9.14 crore, the department said.
To view today's health bulletin: CLICK HERE
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
