Bengaluru: Rahul Gandhi today made it clear that he was ready to become Prime Minister if the Congress party emerged as the single largest party in the 2019 national election.

At a gathering of prominent citizens in Bengaluru, an outreach organised in the last few days of campaigning for the May 12 elections in Karnataka, the Congress President was asked whether he could become Prime Minister.

"I am pretty convinced that Mr Modi is not going to be prime minister. I can see it in his face. He knows it," he said in reply to a question.

"Will you become prime minister?" the questioner asked.

"Well it depends... it depends on how well the Congress party does. If the Congress party is the biggest party, yes," he responded.

If the Congress acted as a "platform" (with other parties in a coalition), the BJP didn't stand a chance of winning the elections, he said, stressing on opposition unity.

"It is highly unlikely that BJP will form the next government, and the second part is that it is close to impossible that Modi will be the next prime minister," he added.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.

The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.

As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.

"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.

"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.

Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.