16 candidates file nominations for LS polls in state on 2nd day
Bengaluru, Mar 20: Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late actor-politician Ambareesh, is among 16 candidates who filed their nominations in Karnataka Wednesday for the Lok Sabha polls.
A total of 17 nominations have been received from 16 candidates on Wednesday, poll officials said, adding that cumulative nominations received stands at 28 from 22 candidates.
Nominations filed were two each from Tumkur, Mandya, Bangalore North, Bangalore central, three each from Bangalore Rural and Mysore, and one each from Bangalore south and Chikkaballapur.
With all the three major political parties, the BJP, Congress and JD(S), yet to announce their list of candidates, those who filed nominations on Wednesday were mainly independents and from smaller parties.
Sumalatha filed her nomination as an independent candidate from Mandya, where she is likely to take on Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy as Congress-JD(S) coalition's candidate.
Sumalatha, a popular south Indian actress,visited the Chamundeshwari temple in Mysuru, ahead of filing nomination.
After filing the nomination, she travelled to a venue where a public meeting was organised in a procession in an open vehicle.
A large number of people, mainly Ambareesh's fans, irrespective of their party association, joined the procession.
She was accompanied by her actor son Abishek and personalities of Kannada film industry, including actors Darshan and Yash.
Some people, allegedly Congress workers, took part in the procession with party flag, despite the grand old party denying Sumalatha ticket and lending its support to alliance partner JD(S)' candidate Nikhil.
Addressing the gathering, Sumalatha, declaring that she was daughter-in-law of Mandya, sought support to carry forward her late husband's legacy and association with the people there.
She vowed to be the voice of the people of Mandya in Parliament.
Karnataka will go to the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
While the last date for the filing of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls is on March 26, scrutiny will take place on March 27, last date for withdrawal is March29.
For the second phase polls on April 23, notification will be issued on March 28.
The last date for nomination is April 4, scrutiny on April 5 and the last day for withdrawal is April 8.
Counting of votes and announcement of results for both phases is scheduled for May 23.
In the 2014 general election, the BJP had bagged 17, Congress 9 and JD(S) two seats.
However in the bypolls, the BJP had yielded the Bellary seat to Congress.
The Congress-JD(S) ruling coalition that has decided to fight the polls in alliance will contest 20 and 8 seats respectively.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
