BJP all set to sweep polls in Odisha in 2019: Shah
Bhubaneswar, July 1: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Sunday said that his party is all set to sweep the Odisha polls in 2019 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah, who has set a target to win 120 plus seats in the 147-member house, on Sunday held closed door meetings with the state leaders to fine tune poll strategies.
"Addressed a meeting with Shakti Kendra incharges and co-incharge in Bhubaneswar. With such energy and enthusiasm among Odisha BJP karyakartas, the BJP is all set to sweep Odisha in 2019, under the leadership of the Prime Minister," tweeted Shah.
Shah's visit to Odisha follows his tour of West Bengal and Manipur.
During his address to poll booth workers, Shah targeted the Odisha government over the missing keys of the Jagannath temple's Ratna Bhandar, saying that if it cannot safeguard the hopes of Hindus, how could it protect the state's interests.
The BJP chief also asked the party workers to reach out to booth-level supporters within 15 days and highlight the welfare work of the union government and raise the issue of the alleged failure of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in the state, said a BJP leader.
Shah also held meetings with two leaders from each of the panchayats in the 21 Assembly segments in Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack Lok Sabha constituencies.
He also held closed door meetings with the party 'prabharis' of parliamentary and assembly constituencies and social media team separately.
"Shah's guidance will surely inject new enthusiasm and energy among BJP workers and will strengthen the party at the booth level," said Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The party has focused on Odisha, which will witness both general and Assembly elections in 2019. The party hopes it has a chance to come to power in the state by riding on Modi's popularity and prevailing anti-incumbency against the BJD, which has been in power for the last 18 years.
The BJP had fared better in the panchayat polls last year, relegating the Congress to the third position. However, the ruling party remained on top.
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CM Siddaramaiah to present his record 17th Budget on Mar 6
Bengaluru (PTI): The Budget Session of the Karnataka Legislature will begin here on Friday, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presenting the Budget for 2026-27, his record 17th as the state's finance minister.
This is another feat for Siddaramaiah, who recently surpassed D Devaraj Urs's record to become the longest-serving Chief Minister of Karnataka.
However, this has come amid speculation over a possible change of Chief Minister after the Budget session, citing a "power-sharing" arrangement between him and his deputy D K Shivakumar, at the time of the government formation in 2023.
According to official sources, Siddaramaiah as the finance minister, faces a "tightrope walk" as he must negotiate between containing the revenue deficit and funding his government's populist guarantee schemes ('Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti', 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya').
Faced with a revenue shortfall amid rising expenditure commitments, he has a task cut out to maneuver the state's finances while maintaining fiscal discipline.
As the CM is expected to look for resource mobilisation measures, speculations are rife that there may be an increase in taxes.
There are calls to trim the outlay on the 'guarantee' schemes, with annual spending for the five schemes exceeding Rs 50,000 crore. In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 51,034 crore for the guarantee schemes.
Also to be factored in is an increase in the government's expenses like salaries, as it has decided to recruit for 56,432 vacant jobs.
The government expects a revenue shortfall of Rs 18,000 crore in the current fiscal (2025-26) due to factors like GST rate rationalisation among others, official sources said.
The total expenditure for 2025-26 was estimated to be Rs 4.09 lakh crore. However this may be lowered to about Rs 3.9 lakh crore, they said.
As per the 2025-26 Budget Estimates, the state's total liabilities by the end of March 2026 are projected at Rs 7,64,655 crore, which constitutes 24.91 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), the government has said.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah ahead of the state Budget presentation, claiming that the government is expected to borrow Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is likely to impose fresh taxes on the people.
He said the Budget would have nothing new, adding that its highlights would be criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes.
The opposition is also expected to corner the government during the session on a host of issues, including the implementation of internal reservation among SCs during the recruitment process it decided to undertake -- the issue on which there is a rift between SC (Right) and SC (Left) factions within the ruling Congress.
Alleged diversion of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) funds to fund guarantee schemes, irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) Mains examination and selection process, developmental issues, irrigation projects, and law and order are among the other issues on which the opposition is likely to target the government.
Several Bills, including an amendment to the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, aimed at allowing vehicles used for illegal transport of cattle to be released on an indemnity bond, and the Karnataka Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Place of Gathering) Bill, 2025, which was referred to a select committee, are likely to be tabled during the session.
