BJP shortlists three candidates for Bengaluru Rural LS constituency
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP has shortlisted three candidates for Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency for the upcoming polls, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka said on Friday.
"We have a strong candidate to contest from Bengaluru Rural. We have recommended three candidates. One among them will contest (on a BJP ticket)," the former Deputy Chief Minister told reporters.
He said the one contesting from Bengaluru Rural will be a surprise candidate.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh is representing this constituency for three consecutive terms.
The BJP swept the 2019 general elections in Karnataka winning 25 of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats.
Karnataka is the most important state in the south for the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Karnataka is the only State in the south where the party had held power.
Ashoka said the list of BJP candidates for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka would be released soon as the discussions on finalising nominees have reached final stages.
Deliberations are continuing on some "problematic constituencies," he added.
Regarding Mandya constituency, where the BJP backed independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh won in 2019 and staked a claim for party ticket this time, he said he has no information on who will be fielded from there.
According to sources, BJP's ally, the JD(S), is keen to field its candidate in Mandya.
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Trump vows to ‘finish job’, thanks Middle East allies; urges countries to show courage, buy US oil
Says US will ‘hit Iran extremely hard’ over next 2-3 weeks, threatens power plants
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said the United States is close to achieving its objectives in Iran, while thanking key allies in the Middle East for their support.
“We are gonna finish the job. We are getting very close,” Trump said, expressing appreciation to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain. “They’ve been great and we will not let them fail in any way shape or form,” he added.
Trump claimed that US military operations against Iran have delivered major results over the past month. Referring to “Operation Epic Fury”, he said American forces had carried out “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield”.
He said Iran’s naval and air capabilities had been severely weakened and its ability to launch missiles and drones had been significantly reduced. “Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces – very few of them left,” he said.
The US president also repeated his criticism of the 2015 nuclear deal signed under former President Barack Obama, claiming it would have allowed Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Trump said the US military campaign aims to weaken Iran’s ability to support proxy groups and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. “Taken together, these actions will cripple Iran militarily,” he said, adding that key strategic objectives are “nearing completion”.
In a separate remark, Trump urged countries dependent on Gulf oil to take action and suggested they should rely more on American energy supplies. He called on them to show “delayed courage” and secure the Strait of Hormuz, which has been affected by the ongoing conflict.
“[They] should have done it before, should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the strait and just take it, protect it,” he said, adding that the United States has sufficient oil resources.
The remarks come as tensions remain high in the region, with continued military exchanges and growing concerns over global energy supplies.
“We will continue until our objectives are fully achieved. Thanks to the progress, we’ve made, I can say we are on track to complete all of America’s objectives shortly, very shortly,” the US president said.
We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to take them back to the stone ages where they belong,” he added.
He further added that “regime change was never our goal” but that “regime change has occurred because of their original leader’s death”.
He’s also warned Iran of strikes on power plants if no deal is agreed.
“If during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets. If no deal is reached we are going to hit every one of their electric generating plants very hard, and probably simultaneously,” he says.
