Bengaluru, April 24: A record number of 2,407 candidates are in the fray for the May 12 Karnataka assembly elections, as per the nominations received by the Election Commission till Tuesday, the last day for filing nominations.
The candidates included 244 candidates from the ruling Congress, 258 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 208 from Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), 1,084 from Independents and 613 others from various regional and fringe outfits.
Of the 244 candidates of the Congress, only 15 are women. A total of 16 women have filed nominations as BJP candidates and 12 from JD-S. There are 56 other women contesting in the elections as Independents from various constituencies.
Among those who filed their nominations on Tuesday included Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from Badami in Bagalkot district, his second nomination besides Chamundeshwari in Mysuru district. He will face BJP MP B. Sreeramulu, who also filed his nomination from the assembly segment, in addition to Molakamuru (reserved) seat in Chitradurga district.
Congress on Tuesday fielded P. Ravikumar Ganiga from Mandya Assembly segment after the party's sitting MLA and popular star Ambareesh declined to contest though the party gave him the form required for nomination (Form-B) and tried to convince him in vain.
The party's state incharge K.C. Venugopal told the media here later that Ambareesh was not in fray for health issues but hoped he would campaign for the Congress as he was one of the most popular leaders in the state.
Polling will be held in a single phase on May 12 for 224 Assembly seats, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes. Votes will be counted on May 15.
Tuesday was the last date for filing nominations. Scrutiny will be on April 25 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 27.
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Karnataka approves AI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru's Electronics City
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has approved the establishment of a CoE for AI in Biotechnology at IBAB in Electronics City (Phase 1), here.
The decision, taken by the state Cabinet on Thursday night, marks a significant step towards strengthening Karnataka’s leadership in emerging technologies, IT and biotechnology, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said on Friday.
The centre will be established over four years with a total outlay of Rs 20 crore, in partnership with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), according to a statement from the minister’s office.
"Karnataka has consistently been at the forefront of technological innovation. As we enter the decade of deep tech, our focus is on building future-ready capabilities at the intersection of artificial intelligence and biotechnology," Minister for IT and Biotechnology said.
"This Centre of Excellence will strengthen our research ecosystem, accelerate innovation and enable Karnataka to lead in high-impact next-generation technologies," he added.
Priyank added that the state government, through the Departments of Electronics, IT, Biotechnology, and Science & Technology, is actively investing in emerging technologies and taking steps to strengthen Karnataka’s AI and deep-tech ecosystem.
The minister said the Cabinet has also approved the transfer of a 51 per cent stake in the Karnataka Technology & Innovation Museum Foundation (KTIMF) to the Unboxing BLR Foundation.
KTIMF was established by the Government of Karnataka as a not-for-profit organisation to promote innovation, technological awareness, startup culture and public engagement in science and technology, aligned with the state’s vision of building a robust innovation ecosystem, he said.
The Technology & Innovation Museum will be developed at the NGEF campus in Baiyappanahalli, Bengaluru, under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with a total project cost of Rs 100 crore. Of this, Rs 49 crore will be contributed by the state government and Rs 51 crore by the private partner, he said.
