Kumaraswamy says son Nikhil will not contest Karnataka assembly polls
Mandya, Jul 26: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said his son and party youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy will not be contesting the assembly polls in Karnataka, which is due next year.
The former state chief minister said the 32-year-old actor-turned politician, who is the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, will work towards the party's victory.
"Who said Nikhil will contest? He has decided to work towards organising the party in about 30-40 constituencies. Nikhil will not contest assembly polls," Kumaraswamy said.
There were some speculations in the party circles that Kumaraswamy may shift to Ramanagara and give up his Channapatna seat to make way for Nikhil, while his wife Anita Kumaraswamy, who currently represents Ramanagara, may not contest the polls.
According to some party leaders, Nikhil is said to be more interested in fighting and winning the next Lok Sabha polls from Mandya.
Nikhil lost the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from the party bastion of Mandya to BJP-backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, an actor-turned politician.
JD(S) had fought the previous Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Congress, as both parties were then running a coalition government, with Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister.
The talk about Nikhil not contesting the polls has come as JD(S) often faces criticism for "dynasty politics", with it even being called a "family party", as at least eight members from party patriarch Deve Gowda's immediate family are into politics.
As it aims to independently form a government this time, the JD(S) has set a target of winning 123 out of 224 seats in the assembly polls.
Kumaraswamy had recently predicted the possibility of an early assembly election in Karnataka, saying it could be held in December this year.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
