In Rajasthan's Banswara LS seat, Congress campaigning against own candidate
Banswara, Apr 24: A peculiar poll battle is on the cards in the tribal-dominated Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan where the Congress is appealing to the people not to vote for its candidate.
The reason: After much flip-flop, the Congress decided to support Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) candidate Rajkumar Roat -- a day before the last date of withdrawal of nominations -- despite fielding its own candidate Arvind Damor.
In accordance with the party’s announcement to support the BAP, Damor was supposed to withdraw his nomination papers but he was nowhere to be seen till the last date of withdrawal of nominations was over. Later, appearing before the media, Damor feigned ignorance about the developments and declared that he would contest the election.
What was supposed to be a bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress-BAP alliance has turned into a three-way fight with Damor likely to divide the Congress votes thus, giving an edge to the saffron party candidate -- Mahendrajit Singh Malviya.
While the local leadership of the Congress has appealed to the people to vote for Roat instead of their own candidate, Damor has claimed that he has the support of a section of the party leaders who are against the alliance with the BAP.
Vikas Bamnia, a district-level leader, and the son of Congress MLA Arjun Bamnia said the party was supporting Roat.
“Our stand is clear, we are supporting the BAP candidate. We are working keeping in mind the sentiments of the people and the directions received from the party,” Bamnia said.
Another local Congress leader said, “We are asking people clearly to not vote for the Congress candidate (Damor).”
Although several local residents told PTI that the contest was primarily between Malviya and Roat, some were of the view that Damor's refusal to toe the party line was embarrassing for the Congress.
BAP, which was established in southern Rajasthan ahead of the 2023 assembly elections, has three MLAs, including Roat.
Banswara-Dungarpur is a reserved seat for Scheduled Tribes and will go to polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally here on Sunday.
Slamming the Congress manifesto, he had alleged that the opposition party was planning to give people's hard-earned money to "infiltrators" and "those who have more children" and referred to former PM Manmohan Singh's speech in 2006 to contend he had said that Muslims have the “first claim” on the country's resources.
In his campaigning speeches, Malviya has accused Roat of misleading the people of Banswara while he, in return, has been charged with dividing the tribal community by the Congress-BAP candidate.
“Where will these people take our tribal brothers and sisters? They are misleading the tribal community. Building a house for one person does not benefit the entire community,” Malviya, who joined the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, said.
“These people are working to spread anarchy. No matter how much they try, the BJP is going to win this seat by lakhs of votes. The alliance of Congress and BAP will not work. It only shows that the Congress did not get a candidate for the Banswara-Dungarpur seat,” he added.
Countering him, Raot said the BJP candidate was "dividing" and abusing the tribal community.
“The kind of statements Malviya is giving... he is abusing the tribal community. The BJP is trying to divide the tribal community. Our tribal people may be associated with any party, be it the BJP or the Congress, but it is our responsibility to unite them. We think above the party, we think for the tribal people,” he said.
Damor, meanwhile, said a faction of the Congress leaders was against the alliance with BAP.
"I have support from the people and the party leaders who are not in favour of the alliance. I am confident of winning the election," Damor said.
Former BJP state president Satish Poonia, who campaigned in the constituency in support of Malviya, said that Congress was nowhere in the scene.
“The condition of Congress leaders has become such that when they went to a ‘bhandara’, the ‘prasad’ was over and when they came out, their shoes and slippers were missing,” he said.
Amid the tussle, key issues like education, employment, roads and electricity have taken a back seat with each candidate trying to outdo the other to project himself as the champion of the tribal community, according to some non-tribal locals.
"The area lacks industries and job opportunities. Many people from this region work in the neighbouring state of Gujarat. Women are also seen working in farms and in labour work in large numbers," a non-tribal local resident said.
"The ideology of BAP appears to be radical and could emerge as a threat in the time to come. Issues are less important, they are polarising people in the name of the community,” he added.
Meanwhile, the need for the Congress to find an alliance partner in Banswara-Dungarpur was necessitated after Malviya -- a satrap from the Vagad region -- joined the BJP.
Malviya, who was made a cabinet minister twice in the previous Congress governments, quit the party after being denied the post of the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly in the wake of the Congress' defeat in the 2023 assembly elections.
He resigned as the MLA from Bagidora assembly constituency and joined the BJP in February.
As the Congress and the BAP -- the new party from the Vagad region -- held discussions for an alliance, the lack of consensus on seat sharing and resistance by some local Congress leaders delayed the finalisation of the coalition. On the last day of filing of nominations, the Congress decided to field Damor from Banswara-Dungarpur and Kapoor Singh from Bagidora for the bypoll.
A day before the withdrawal of nominations, Rajasthan Congress in charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa announced on social media that the party would support BAP in both elections.
However, in a rude shock for the Congress, its two candidates refused to withdraw their nominations.
Of the eight assembly segments under the Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha seat, the BJP has four MLAs, the Congress has three and the BAP one.
The Congress in Rajasthan is contesting the elections as part of an alliance on two seats -- Nagaur (with Rashtriya Loktantrik Party) and Sikar (with CPI-M).
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Karnataka offers extensive incentives in its proposed IT policy
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka has proposed a new Information Technology Policy for 2025–2030, offering extensive financial and non-financial incentives aimed at accelerating investments, strengthening innovation and expanding the state's tech footprint beyond Bengaluru.
The Karnataka Cabinet gave its nod to the policy 2025–2030 with an outlay of Rs 445.50 crore on Thursday after the Finance Department accorded its approval.
The policy introduces 16 incentives across five enabler categories, nine of which are entirely new, with a distinctive push to support companies setting up or expanding in emerging cities.
Alongside financial support, the government is also offering labour-law relaxations, round-the-clock operational permissions and industry-ready human capital programmes to make Karnataka a globally competitive 'AI-native' destination.
According to the policy, units located outside Bengaluru will gain access to a wide suite of benefits, including research and development and IP creation incentives, internship reimbursements, talent relocation support and recruitment assistance.
The benefits also include EPF reimbursement, faculty development support, rental assistance, certification subsidies, electricity tariff rebates, property tax reimbursement, telecom infrastructure support, and assistance for events and conferences.
Bengaluru Urban will receive a focused set of six research and development and talent-oriented incentives, while Indian Global Capability Centres (GCCs) operating in the state will be brought under the incentive net.
Incentive caps and eligibility thresholds have been raised, and the policy prioritises growth-focused investments for both new and expanding units.
Beyond incentives, the government focuses on infrastructure and innovation interventions.
A flagship proposal in the policy is the creation of Techniverse -- integrated, technology-enabled enclaves developed through a public-private partnership model inside future Global Innovation Districts.
These campuses will offer plug-and-play facilities, artificial intelligence and machine learning and cybersecurity labs, advanced testbeds, experience centres, and disaster-resistant command centres.
There will also be a Statewide Digital Hub Grid and a Global Test Bed Infrastructure Network, linking public and private research and development, and innovation facilities across Karnataka.
The government has proposed a Women Global Tech Missions Fellowship for 1,000 mid-career women technologists, an IT Talent Return Programme to absorb experienced professionals returning from abroad, and broad-based skill and faculty development reimbursements.
Shared corporate transport routes in Bengaluru and tier-two cities will be designed with Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation and other transport entities to support worker mobility.
The government said the policy is the outcome of an extensive research and consultation process involving TCS, Infosys, Wipro, IBM, HCL, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, HP, Google, Accenture and NASSCOM, along with sector experts and stakeholder groups.
It estimates an outlay of Rs 967.12 crore over five years, comprising Rs 754.62 crore for incentives and Rs 212.50 crore for interventions such as Techniverse campuses, digital grid development, global outreach missions and talent programmes.
