Strong Opposition from Puttur BJP Leaders Delays Arun Kumar Puttila's Inclusion
Puttur: Arun Kumar Puttila, who contested the last assembly elections as an independent rebel, causing the BJP to secure the 3rd place in the Puttur Vidhan Sabha constituency, faced widespread opposition from Puttur BJP leaders regarding his rejoining the BJP. As a result, his inclusion in the party has been postponed.
Puttila's independent candidacy in the previous elections had garnered attention at the state level. Subsequently, he established the Puttila Parivar and aimed to expand its presence to the district level. In an attempt to put an end to this, several BJP leaders sought to bring him back into the BJP fold.
Following B. Y. Vijayendra's appointment as the state president of BJP, Puttila family leaders, including Arun Kumar Puttila, visited Bangalore and met Vijayendra. This meeting suggested that Arun Kumar Puttila would join the BJP, and an official joining program was scheduled at the district BJP office in Mangalore on Friday evening. However, strong opposition from Puttur BJP leaders led to the postponement of Arun Kumar Puttila's BJP joining.
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During a meeting held at the Puttur BJP office on Friday, it was decided that all party office bearers should be consulted before his official induction. The demand was made that Arun Kumar Puttila must adhere to party rules before officially joining BJP, and local officials should be taken into confidence. It was also decided that Puttila should not be given any status, including mandal chairmanship, at this time.
Reports indicate that the BJP district president Satish Kumpala has deferred Arun Kumar Puttila's joining following the demands of local BJP leaders.
Arun Kumar Puttila was prepared to visit the district BJP office and election office on Friday. However, district president Satish Kumpala's arrival in Puttur and subsequent closed meeting at the party office resulted in the announcement that Puttila's joining was misrepresented by the media. This indicates that the leaders are obstructing Puttila from joining the BJP.
In Friday's meeting, party leaders Sulochana Bhatt, Premananda Shetty, District General Secretary Yatish Arwar, former MLA Sanjiva Mathandur, Dr. M.K. Prasad, Mandal President Saja Radhakrishna Alva, former MLA Mallika Prasad, OBC Morcha State Secretary R. C. Narayan, Gopalkrishna Herele, Appiah Maniyani, Bhami Ashok Shenai, Radhakrishna Borkar Jeevandhara Jain, Rajesh Bannur, Chandrasekhara Rao Bapplige, Ajith Rai Hosamane, Dinesh Panjiga, and others were present.
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CM Siddaramaiah, FM Nirmala Sitharaman lead polio vaccination drive in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman led the statewide pulse polio vaccination drive on Sunday.
While Siddaramaiah kicked off the campaign along with state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Home Minister G Parameshwara at his residence 'Kaveri' here, Sitharaman, who is in Vijayanagara district in the state, holding Chintan Shivir, administered pulse polio drops to children below five years of age in Kamalapura.
"Smt @nsitharaman launched the Polio Immunisation Drive in Kamalapura, Karnataka, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to safeguarding child health and ensuring a polio-free India," a post on her 'X' account said.
The post further said that children under five years of age were administered Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) drops, "reinforcing the collective effort to protect future generations through timely immunisation."
According to the details shared by the health departments, about 62.4 lakh children have been identified for it.
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"Under the routine immunization programme, every Child is given 5 doses of OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine) and 3 doses of IPV (inactivated injectable polio vaccine) and Government of Karnataka is committed that no child should miss these doses," a government statement said.
Apart from all hospitals in the state, special focus will be given to immunise children living in villages, hilly areas, brick kilns, slums, migrant areas, farmhouses, urban slums. Booths will also be set up in railway stations, metro stations, airports and Seaports, the statement said.
The state health department has set up 33,258 booths and deployed 1,030 mobile teams, 2,096 transit teams, 1,13,115 vaccinators and 7,322 Supervisors.
All children below five years of age will be administered the oral polio vaccine on December 21, 2025.
"Even if your child has received any number of doses of OPV before, it is very essential to immunise your child again during this round," the department said.
In order to allay concerns, the department said the polio vaccine is completely safe and people should not to believe in any false rumours.
Smt @nsitharaman launched the Polio Immunization Drive in Kamalapura, Karnataka, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to safeguarding child health and ensuring a polio-free India.
— Nirmala Sitharaman Office (@nsitharamanoffc) December 21, 2025
On the occasion, children under five years of age were administered Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)… pic.twitter.com/PN4IJUGtnn
ಗೃಹಕಚೇರಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣಾದಲ್ಲಿ "ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಲಸಿಕಾ ದಿನ"ವನ್ನು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಪಲ್ಸ್ ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಹಾಕುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 21, 2025
ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬರೂ ತಮ್ಮ 5 ವರ್ಷದೊಳಗಿನ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿದ ತಪ್ಪದೇ ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಲಸಿಕೆ ಹಾಕಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ "ಪೋಲಿಯೊ ಮುಕ್ತ ಭಾರತ"ದ ನಮ್ಮ ಅಭಿಯಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಂಬಲವಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.
ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ದಿನೇಶ್… pic.twitter.com/uClMoqOnyB
