Yediyurappa says cabinet expansion soon after assembly bypolls
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said cabinet expansion would take place soon after the November 3 assembly bypoll and that the BJP candidate in RR Nagar, Munirathna, would be made a minister "soon after he wins".
"It (expansion) has been put on hold for quite some time due to various reasons. I will go to Delhi to discuss it with party leaders.
It will take place soon after the bypoll results are announced," he told reporters ahead of a roadshow in Rajarajeshwari Nagar.
Asked about his announcement at the roadshow that Munirathna would be made minister, he said "I am 100 percent going to make him minister after he wins the bypoll.'
Congress state chief D K Shivakumar flayed the announcement on Munirathna, saying it was a violation of the model code of conduct.
"Let him be made chief minister.... but now saying that he (Munirathna) will be made minister itself is a poll code violation," Shivakumar told reporters.
Addressing the roadshow, Yediyurappa asked voters to elect Munirathna by at least a 50,000 vote margin, "paving the way for him to be made minister soon after he wins."
He lauded the steps taken by Munirathna to help people of his constituency during the coronavirus induced lockdown and urged them to help him win by at least a 50,000 margin, "paving the way for making him a minister."
The Chief Minister said Rs 900 crore worth of work has already been sanctioned in the constituency.
Yediyurappa, seeking to silence his critics within and outside BJP, reiterated that he would continue as Chief Minister for the rest of the term and run the party and government.
On October 21, senior BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal had said that Yediyurappa would not remain Chief Minister for long and the high command had decided that his successor would be from the north Karnataka region.
While BJP leaders downplayed Yatnal's statement, saying there was no truth in it, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told a private news channel recently that the Chief Minister will not continue after the Bihar election.
Basavaraj Horatti of JD(S) too had claimed a week ago that Yatnal has the backing of the BJP high command as he has not been removed from the party yet.
The RR Nagar bypoll has become a prestigious battle with all three political parties -- BJP, Congress, and JD(S) fighting it out intensely.
The election was warranted as Munirathna, a former Congress MLA, resigned from the assembly last year and joined the BJP.
The Congress has fielded former IAS officer late D K Ravi's wife and senior leader Hanumantharayappa's daughter H Kusuma, while the JD(S) has fielded V Krishnamurthy.
The by-elections at RR Nagar in the city and Sira in Tumakuru district will be held on November 3.
The counting of votes is on November 10.
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Bengal: Over 55 pc turnout till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of 2 assembly seats
Kolkata (PTI): Over 55 per cent turnout was recorded till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, an official said.
Voting was underway more or less peacefully at 11 polling stations of Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour, where the EC ordered repoll a day ago, following reports of electoral malpractices.
However, at booth number 179 at Chanda Primary School of Diamond Harbour seat, the Trinamool Congress alleged that a specially abled voter and his mother were harassed by central forces. The alleged incident sparked protests by party workers and locals.
The TMC claimed that the voter's mother, who had entered the booth to assist him, and her son were detained for a considerable time by central forces over alleged rule violations.
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"TMC leaders Manmohini Biswas and Pratik Ur Rahman reached the spot and led the protests, with residents terming the action unwarranted harassment. The matter has been taken care of by our officials there," an official of the poll body said.
Polling was otherwise peaceful across 15 booths in the area, he added.
Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said, adding that till 1 pm, the turnout was 55.57 per cent.
Magrahat Paschim registered 56.33 per cent voter turnout, while in Diamond Harbour, it was 54.9 per cent, a poll official stated.
Voting in these two assembly constituencies was held in the second phase of the state elections on April 29.
The repoll order was based on reports received from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and "material circumstances", the Election Commission official said.
In Magrahat Paschim, TMC's Md Samim Ahamed Molla is pitted against BJP nominee Goursundar Ghosh, while Abdul Majid Halder of the Congress and ISF candidate Abdul Aziz Al Hassan are also in the fray.
TMC candidate Panna Lal Halder is contesting against Dipak Kumar Halder of the BJP in the Diamond Harbour seat. Goutam Bhattacharya of the Congress and CPI(M)'s Samar Naiya are among other candidates.
The BJP had alleged rampant electoral malpractices in certain polling stations of both the assembly seats under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The EC had deputed its special observer, Subrata Gupta, to fact-check the allegations from the ground.
The poll panel will decide on repolling in the Falta assembly constituency on Saturday.
The West Bengal assembly elections were held in two phases -- April 23 and April 29 -- amid unprecedented security arrangements.
Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
