33 withdraw nomination in Karnataka, 241 left in fray for April 18 polls
Bengaluru: A total of 241 candidates are in the fray in Karnataka's 14 Lok Sabha constituencies that will go to polls in the first phase on April 18, poll officials said late Friday night.
A total of 33 candidates withdrew their nomination papers on the last day on Friday.
At 31, the Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency has the maximum candidates while Hassan has the least at six.
Prominent among those in the race in the first phase include former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (Tumkur) and his grandsons Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy from Hassan and Mandya respectively.
Also in the fray are Union Minister Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North), senior Congress leaders Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapura), B K Hariprasad (Bangalore South) and Karnataka Rural Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda (Bangalore North).
In a big relief to Deve Gowda, rebel candidate and sitting Congress MP from Tumkur S P Muddahanumegowda Friday pulled out of the contest.
"Angry" at being denied the ticket, Muddahanumegowda had filed his papers both as party candidate and as an independent but finally yielded to persuasion from the party leadership.
K N Rajanna, another Congress leader and former MLA who had filed his nomination from Tumkur as an independent candidate, upset over his party's decision to cede the seat to JD(S), too withdrew his nomination.
Karnataka will go to polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23. Meanwhile, 17 candidates filed 20 nominations on Friday for the second phase of polling on April 23, poll officials said.
Cumulative number of 40 nominations have been filed by 32 candidates so far in the second phase.
For the second phase polls on April 23, the last date for filing nomination is April 4. Scrutiny will take place 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.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
