Shivakumar's Delhi visit triggers fresh speculation about leadership change after Budget Session
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's visit to New Delhi on Sunday has once again triggered speculations, linking it to a possible leadership change in the state, after the Budget Session of the Legislature.
According to official and party sources, Shivakumar left for the national capital with AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge from Kalaburagi on Sunday evening. Earlier that day, both leaders had shared a stage to launch various development projects worth Rs 1,069 crore at Chittapur in the district.
According to Shivakumar's tour programme shared with the media, he is in New Delhi to attend a private programme and will stay there tonight. He is scheduled to return to Bengaluru on Monday morning.
Amid the ongoing tussle between him and Shivakumar over the CM post, Siddaramaiah asserted on Saturday that he can continue and present two more budgets if the Congress high command gives him the opportunity.
Siddaramaiah on Friday presented his record 17th Budget as the state's finance minister.
A few legislators loyal to Shivakumar have reportedly expressed their intention to travel to Delhi to urge the party high command to make their leader the CM, after the Budget session of the legislature. The session is scheduled to conclude on March 27.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar is scheduled to host a dinner for all ministers, Congress MLAs and MLCs on March 10 to mark his completion of six years as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
