Polling underway in Karnataka's remaining 14 LS seats
Bengaluru: Second phase of polling is underway in the remaining 14 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, where the contest is between the ruling Congress-JD(S) combine and the BJP.
Polling began at 7 am in 28,022 polling stations that are mostly in the northern belt of the state, covering the entire Hyderabad-Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka regions, a couple of central districts and coastal Uttara Kannada.
Queues were seen at polling booths as the voting began, with many arriving to vote early in the day to avoid the summer heat.
As many as 2,43,03,279 voters are eligible to choose their representative from among 237 candidates including 227 men and 10 women who are in the fray.
At 57, Belgaum has the maximum candidates, while Raichur (5) has the lowest.
Out of the total 2,43,03,279 voters in the 14 seats, there are 1,22,55,590 men, 1,20,45,667 women and 2,022 others.
A total of 33,626 Control Units, 48,394 Ballot Units and 35,028 VVPATs are being used for the polls.
A total of 2,03,591 polling personnel-- including 1,43,580 poll officials, 34,548 police personnel, 5,407 transport personnel and 20,056 other personnel will be on duty.
The police have made elaborate security arrangements to avoid any untoward incidents.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has considerable presence in the region and is aiming to improve its tally banking on the 'Modi wave' and the support of dominant Lingayat community, considered as its vote base.
For the Congress-JD(S) alliance, it is a high-stake battle as their performance is likely to have a bearing on the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy.
The prominent contestants in the second phase include Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge (Gulbarga) Union Ministers Ananth Kumar Hegde (Uttara Kannada) and Ramesh Jigajinagi (Bijapur).
Besides, state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra is pitted against another former chief minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa of JD(S) from Shimogga while Pradesh Congress Working President Eshwar Khandre is seeking election from Bidar.
A key constituency is Gulbarga, where leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, a nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member who has never tasted electoral defeat.
He is said to be facing a tough battle against BJP's Umesh Jadhav, who recently joined the saffron party quitting as Congress MLA.
Jadhav was among the four MLAs against whom Congress had moved the Assembly speaker for disqualification under anti-defection law.
Several senior leaders like Baburao Chinchansur, Malka Reddy and Malikayya Guttedar from the region had quit the party and joined the BJP allegedly against dominance of Kharge and his minister son Priyank Kharge, adding to the woes of the Congress in Gulbarga.
The spotlight is also on Shimogga, where the battle is between sons of two former chief ministers.
Interestingly Yeddyurappa's son and sitting MP Raghavendra had defeated Bangarappa's son and former MLA Madhu during by-polls held in November last year.
In Belagum too, the Congress faces an uphill task as the party is grappling with dissidence with senior leader and party's rebel MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi allegedly asking his supporters to support the BJP.
Jarkiholi, against whom a disqualification petition was moved by the party which is pending before the speaker, did not attend Congress president Rahul Gandhi's rally recently.
Of the 14 constituencies going to polls, the BJP is contesting in all the seats while the Congress and the JD(S) have fielded candidates in 12 and two constituencies respectively as per the seat sharing arrangement.
The Congress had its hold on 4 out of the 14 seats - Chikkodi, Gulbarga, Bellary, Raichur -- while the remaining 10 were represented by BJP MPs.
In the first phase, the 14 constituencies in southern part of the state covering old Mysuru region and couple of coastal districts had gone to polls on April 18, recording an overall voter turnout of 68.81 per cent.
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Malayalam film director Ranjith remanded in sexual assault case; FEFKA takes action
Kochi (PTI): A court here on Wednesday sent noted Malayalam film director Ranjith to judicial custody after he was arrested late last night in connection with an attempted sexual assault case.
Following his remand, the director claimed that the accusations against him were "false" and that he would be able to prove it.
He made the claim before reporters while being taken inside the sub-jail here.
Even as the director claimed innocence, state Culture Minister Saji Cherian indicated that the government and the police were with the victim, and the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) recommended suspension of Ranjith's membership from the directors and writers unions.
The police said that the victim was "traumatised" by the incident and had to undergo counselling and psychiatric treatment before she could come forward with the complaint.
Kochi City Police Commissioner S Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar said that a Special Investigation Team was formed after recording the victim's statement, and then the allegations were discreetly verified before moving forward with the arrest.
"It should not happen to any woman, especially at the workplace," he told reporters here.
The officer also said that the director had attempted to remove himself from the area.
Kumar also said that the biggest challenge before the police was to maintain the confidentiality of the case and protect the identity of the victim.
He also said that there were several witnesses to the alleged sexual assault, as the incident happened on a shooting set.
The officer said that the evidence collection was progressing, and the director's custody will be sought when required.
FEFKA general secretary B Unnikrishnan told reporters here that there was no complaint made to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in connection with the incident.
FEFKA is an association of several craft unions in the Malayalam film industry.
Ranjith was taken into custody from the Idukki district on Tuesday evening, and subsequently, his arrest was recorded.
He was produced at the residence of a magistrate here in the morning and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
The case against Ranjith was registered by Kochi City Police a few days ago based on the victim's complaint.
Earlier in the day, Cherian told reporters that "such acts will not be accepted by the government or the society" and that the government and the police were with the victim.
Ranjith was appointed as chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in 2022 and resigned from the post in 2024.
The minister said that the director was appointed to the post because he was qualified for it, and at that time, there were no such allegations against him.
"He carried forward the academy in a good way. When such allegations came up earlier, he had left the position. We are viewing the repetition of the same allegations against him seriously. Neither the police nor the government is protecting him," he said.
He said that the quick action taken against the director is an outcome of the recent changes in the movie sector, including holding of the cinema conclave and the state film policy.
"Let the investigation take its course," he added.
The minister also said that anyone in the film sector having similar bad experiences can come forward with a complaint and stand firm on it, as the government will be with them.
According to the police, the woman actor alleged that the director had invited her to a caravan during the shooting of a film and attempted to sexually assault her.
Ranjith had earlier faced allegations of sexual harassment following revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report on harassment and abuse in the Malayalam film industry.
In 2024, a case was registered against Ranjith after a Bengali actress filed a complaint with the Kochi City Police Commissioner.
The complaint, sent via email, alleged that Ranjith had touched her inappropriately with sexual intent after inviting her to act in the film Paleri Manikyam in 2009.
