A lot to learn from US poll process, election rallies: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Sep 17: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said there is a lot to learn from the poll process in the United States and the way election rallies are conducted there.
Shivakumar, also state Congress chief, returned from his ten-day visit to the US earlier today.
He said it was private visit and he had not met any top political leaders there.
"Mine was a private trip, not the government, I had gone with family for some personal work," Shivakumar told reporters here.
Asked about his trip being "linked" by some to the November five US Presidential election, he said: "all those things are false, the place I had gone, election (rally) was going on there, I had gone to see how things happened there....I have not met anyone (leaders)."
"...we have a lot to learn, the passion there, youths, interest, election process -- all those things, there is a lot to learn, I will speak about it some other time," he added.
Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar, replying to a question on his meeting with former Congress President Rahul Gandhi in the US, said he doesn't need to take anyone's permission to meet his party leader, and what transpired in the meeting is not for public consumption.
There were speculations in some quarters linking Shivakumar's meeting with Rahul Gandhi over the possibility of change of Chief Minister. Shivakumar had in the past made no secret of his ambition to become CM.
To a question on violence and tension in Nagamangala in Mandya district and Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district, Shivakumar said the government and the police department had taken immediate action to bring the situation under control and will take action against the culprits.
"Those who want to do politics will do, we will not bother about it," he said, in an apparent dig at the opposition BJP and JD(S).
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
