Bellary MP E Tukaram's wife Annapurna to fight from Sandur: CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru, Oct 22: Congress has decided to give Sandur ticket to Bellary MP E Tukaram's wife Annapurna while candidates for Shiggaon and Channapatna will be decided later, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday, noting that the party has made all necessary preparations for the November 13 Assembly by-polls in these segments.
To a question on demands to give the Channapatna ticket to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother and former Congress MP from Bangalore Rural D K Suresh, the CM said, "his name is also there, let's see what will be decided."
The last date for filing nominations is October 25, and the final date for withdrawal of papers is October 30.
ALSO READ: Senior BJP member CP Yogeshwar resigns as MLC; to contest from Channapatna seat
By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.
"We have made all the preparations (for bypolls), probably candidates may be announced today. The Sandur candidate has been decided, we will give the ticket to Tukaram's wife. Candidates for Shiggaon and Channapatna are likely to be decided today," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
While the BJP has already announced its candidates for Sandur and Shiggaon segments, the party has ceded the high profile Channapatna seat to its alliance partner JD(S), which is yet to announce its candidate.
To a question on demands to give Channapatna ticket to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother and former Congress MP from Bangalore Rural D K Suresh, the CM said, "his name is also there, let's see what will be decided."
Both Shivakumar and Suresh have said that there is pressure on them to field the latter as Congress candidate from Channapatna.
"D K Brothers" -- Shivakumar and Suresh -- are hoping to regain their lost grounds in the Vokkaliga dominated region, after the Lok Sabha poll debacle in which Suresh lost to BJP-JD(S) joint candidate and Kumaraswamy's brother-in-law Dr C N Manjunath in Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment, under which the Channapatna Assembly seat comes.
Asked about speculations that BJP leader C P Yogeeshwara, who resigned as MLC on Monday, joining Congress and contesting from Channapatna, Siddaramaiah said, "I haven't spoken to him. Our president (state Congress president Shivakumar) is from Channapatna region, let's see what he decides. I have said the ticket should be given to a suitable candidate. He will discuss and decide."
Further responding to a question, will Congress induct Yogeeshwara into the party, he said, "whoever comes accepting the Congress' ideology, we will take them in."
After resigning, Yogeeshwara on Monday had not ruled out chances of him joining Congress. "....I have not contacted anyone (from Congress) so far and there is no such intention. But I can't say what will happen tomorrow," he said.
With the BJP ceding Channapatana seat to alliance partner JD(S), the actor-turned-politician had also said he plans to contest as an independent, and would take a final call, after consulting his supporters and workers. He even appealed to BJP-JD(S) leaders to consider giving him a ticket from the saffron party.
There were plans to field Yogeeshwara on a JD(S) ticket, but he seemed to be not interested in it, and instead wanted Kumaraswamy to support him as BJP candidate, which was not acceptable to the latter and his party, party sources said.
Regarding relief for those affected by rains in Bengaluru and other parts of the state, the CM said, "we will start the relief work, preparations have been made."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
