Group within Cong conspiring to defeat Siddaramaiah, he will lose poll from Varuna: BJP state chief
Mangaluru (PTI): Expressing confidence that the BJP would achieve a clear majority in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections, party state president and Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel on Monday said former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would be defeated in the Varuna constituency, as a group within the Congress was conspiring against its senior leader.
"A group within the Congress is conspiring to defeat Siddaramaiah from the Varuna assembly constituency," he alleged at a press conference here.
Kateel also alleged that a similar group had worked against Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in Kalaburagi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Stating that the BJP would win the elections with a clear majority, he said the party's expected tally would increase following the tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said the BJP had started preparations for the elections some 18 months ago. The party had made its booth-level units strong quite early to face the elections and reached the people on the basis of the achievements of the government, he said.
Kateel said he had visited all 224 constituencies in the state. Even the Mysuru region, which was the stronghold of JD(S) would support the BJP this time, he claimed.
He said the party had given tickets to ordinary workers and all the communities in the coastal districts were in favour of the BJP. The party would be victorious in all the eight constituencies in Dakshina Kannada district, he said.
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Bengal: On way to PM's rally, 3 mowed down by train amid dense fog
Kolkata (PTI): Three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said.
Modi, whose helicopter could not land at Taherpur due to dense fog and low visibility, condoled the death of the “BJP workers” in his virtual address from Kolkata airport.
“I have come to know that some BJP workers, while travelling to the rally, lost their lives in a rail accident. My condolences are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Modi said.
The Eastern Railway official told PTI that the incident occurred in the morning when these people, who were travelling by a bus, had stopped the vehicle and walked to the railway tracks to answer nature's call.
"While three persons died on the spot, two others with injuries were admitted to a local hospital," he said.
Another person with minor injuries was released after having been administered first aid, the official said.
The deceased have been identified as Ramprasad Ghosh (74), Shaktipada Sutradhar (55) and Gopinath Das (38).
Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar constituency in Nadia district, alleged that the BJP ignored the incident and went ahead with the rally.
"Terrible tragedy hushed up at altar of @narendramodi ego. @BJP4India supporters brought from far Murshidabad for PM rally in Ranaghat today," she said in a post on X.
"4 went to answer nature's call and were killed by 31814 down local train near Taherpur. BJP ignored, blacked out & went ahead with rally," Moitra claimed.
Reacting to her remarks, the West Bengal BJP, in a post on X, asserted that the TMC "has always been adept at milking tragedies", and was being "disrespectful to the unfortunate victims of this tragedy".
The TMC alleged that BJP leaders have not shown "neither concern nor compassion" over the mishap.
"The loss of three lives in Taherpur should have united everyone in grief. But @BJP4India leaders showed neither concern nor compassion," it said in another post on X.
"At this painful moment, Smt @MamataOfficial and Shri @abhishekaitc put humanity above party lines and stood beside the families of the deceased," the party said.
TMC’s on-ground leaders promptly reached out to the grieving family members, ensuring them of help and assistance, it said.
"While Delhi’s rulers chase Bengal with arrogance, our leadership chose empathy. This is the difference between politics of power and politics of people!" the TMC added.
