BJP to support independent candidate Sumalatha in Mandya
Bengaluru, Mar 23: Independent candidate and multilingual actress Sumalatha received a big boost Saturday with the BJP deciding to support her in Mandya to take on Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil in the Lok Sabha polls.
Sumalatha, widow of actor-turned-politician M H Ambareesh, decided to contest as an independent after being denied a ticket by the Congress, which is now facing trouble in the district over conceding the seat to it's ruling coalition partner JD(S).
BJP's Central Election Committee Secretary Jagat Prakash Nadda announced the party's decision to support Sumalatha, as he read out the list of candidates for various Lok Sabha seats across the country in Delhi.
With Congress ruling out fielding Sumalatha for Mandya, saying it would go to JD(S), clamour had grown within BJP to induct her and field her as the candidate, as a section believed it would help the saffron party, which doesn't have much presence in the Vokkaliga bastion.
However, BJP's state leadership was one in supporting her as an independent so she could continue to bank on the support of disgruntled Congress leaders in Mandya, who are upset about their party's decision to cede the seat to JD(S).
Congress and JD(S) have been arch rivals in old Mysuru region, especially Mandya.
Both parties forged an alliance to form the government after the 2018 assembly poll results and are fighting the Lok Sabha polls together, according to the coalition arrangement.
Sumalatha's late husband Ambareesh had contested and won from Mandya in the past and enjoys popularity among the masses there.
She had filed her nomination as an independent on Wednesday and enjoys the support of many within the Kannada film industry, with film stars Darshan and Yash among others by her side during campaigning.
Sumalatha had also sought the support of senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna, a prominent Vokkaliga leader from Mandya.
Despite losing Mandya Lok Sabha seat in the bypolls in November 2018, BJP had made significant inroads, with party candidate Siddaramaiah, a political greenhorn and former civil servant securing 2,44,404 votes, its best performance there.
BJP on Saturday also announced that Muniswamy S, a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike corporator from Kadugodi, would be its candidate for the Kolar Lok Sabha seat.
With the announcement for two seats on Saturday, BJP has so far announced candidates for 23 (including Mandya) out of total of 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The first list of 21 candidates was announced on Thursday.
The five seats for which the party is yet to announce its candidates are Koppal, Raichur, Bangalore South, Bangalore Rural and Chikkodi.
Congress and JD(S) that have decided to fight the polls in alliance will contest for 20 and eight seats respectively and are yet to formally announce their list of candidates.
Karnataka will go to the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
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.
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.
