BJP to field candidates in all 28 LS seats in Karnataka: KS Eshwarappa
Bengaluru, Mar 20: The Bharatiya Janata Party will field its candidates in all 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka, senior BJP leader and MLA K S Eshwarappa said Wednesday.
The former deputy chief minister also said the list of candidates has been almost finalised and could be released Wednesday night.
"Our list of candidates is almost final...In all likelihood our national president would release it tonight. We are contesting in all the 28 Lok Sabha seats.We are getting more than expected overwhelming support," Eshwarappa told reporters.
He was also asked about the Mandya parliamentary seat from where actor Sumalatha, the widow of popular Kannada film actor and former Mandya MP, is in the fray.
There are 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, including Mandya, the Shivamogga MLA said.
Earlier when Sumalatha announced her decision to contest from the constituency as an Independent, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa had said the party would take a call on Mandya.
Sumalatha filed her nomination from Mandya Wednesday.
Replying to a query that fielding a candidate in Mandya would mean there is no support for Sumalatha, Eshwarappa said, "I am telling you specifically that there is no dilemma."
"When I said that we are fielding a candidate in Mandya, what should it mean? We will not back stab our candidate by supporting any other person," he said.
The decision to field candidates in all the 28 seats was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah after consulting the party state president, Eshwarappa said.
The BJP will make all efforts to win all the seats in the state, he added.
Sources in BJP told that the party decided to field a candidate in Mandya as a precautionary measure.
"What if Sumalatha suddenly withdraws her nomination succumbing to some pressure. Earlier also, we had a similar experience. This is the reason that we have decided to field our candidate," a senior BJP functionary said.
Karnataka will go to the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
