Bengaluru, April 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will contest also from Badami assembly constituency in the state's Vijayapura district in addition to Chamudeshwari in Mysuru, a Congres official said on Saturday.
"Siddaramaiah will contest from two assembly segments -- Chamundeshwari and Badami, where he will file nomination on Monday," party's state unit spokesman Ravi Gowda told here.
Elections to the 225-member state assembly, including one nominated will be held in a single phase on May 12 and votes will be counted on May 15.
Though the Congress high command is yet to release names of candidates for the five remaining seats after the first list of 218 names on April 15, Siddaramaiah's nomination from Badami makes him the only leader in the ruling party to contest from two seats in the state.
"This is the first time Siddaramaiah is contesting from two seats in response to demand from the party's cadres and his supporters from the Kurba community he belongs to," said Gowda.
Siddaramaiah, 69, filed nomination on Friday at Chamundeshwari from where he contested seven times and won five times since 1983.
Though he had won from Varuna in Mysuru district twice since 2008 assembly elections, he shifted to Chamundeshwari, paving way for his son Yatindra to contest from his home constituency.
Yatindra too filed nomination from Varuna on Friday.
BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa's second son B.Y. Vijayandra is also contesting from Varuna though they hail from Shivamogga district.
In his affidavit, Siddaramaiah declared total assets valued at Rs 20.3 crore, including that of his wife, Parvathi, and those inherited from his Hindu Undivided Family.
Siddaramaiah is also the party's second chief minister to have completed a 5-year tenure 40 years after D. Devaraj Urs (1972-78).
The veteran state leader joined the Congress from the Janata Dal-Secular in August 2006.
"The party will announce names for the remaining four seats - Shantinagar in Bengaluru central, Kittur, Nagthan, Sindgi and Raichur in the state's northwest region.
The party has decided to support Swaraj India candidate Darshan Puttannaiah, son of the state'ss farmer leader, the late K.S. Puttanaiah, who was a legislator from Melukote in Mandya district.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
