Campaigning for 1st phase of LS polls in Karnataka ends today
Bengaluru (PTI): Campaigning for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka going to polls in the first phase on April 26 will come to an end on Wednesday evening.
A total of 247 candidates -- 226 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for this round of voting in most of the southern and coastal districts.
It is a straight electoral contest between the ruling Congress and the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) combine in the State.
While the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11, and its alliance partner JD(S) in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar.
Besides the three, the segments where elections will be held on Friday are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkballapur.
The intense campaigning for the past about a month saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah leading from the front for the BJP, holding rallies and roadshows. BJP President J P Nadda, some Union Ministers and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant too pitched in.
Veteran BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and the party's state president B Y Vijayendra also campaigned extensively.
Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy were among the prominent names who led the charge for the party.
And for the JD(S), it was the 90-year-old party patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who led the campaign.
Chikkaballapur has a maximum number of 29 candidates, followed by 24 in Bangalore Central and Dakshina Kannada has the least number - nine.
Kumaraswamy from Mandya, his brother-in-law and noted cardiologist C N Manjunath from Bangalore Rural on a BJP ticket, erstwhile Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from Mysore, also from the BJP, and state Congress President Shivakumar's brother and MP D K Suresh from Bangalore Rural, are among the prominent candidates in the fray in the first phase.
The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha segments. The remaining 14 constituencies, mostly in the northern districts, will go to polls on May seven.
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Mahila Congress holds protest demanding arrest of Prajwal Revanna in sex scandal case
Mangaluru: Today, the District Women's Congress staged a protest demanding the immediate arrest of Prajwal Revanna. Led by Shalet Pinto, president of the district women's unit, the demonstrators gathered in front of the Congress office in Mallikatte.
Chanting slogans calling for Prajwal's arrest and justice for women, the protesters voiced their discontent with the handling of the case. Shalet Pinto accused the BJP, led by Prime Minister Modi, of shielding him from accountability. She questioned the BJP's commitment to the "Beti Bachao" (Save Daughter) initiative, highlighting the silence on the pen drive.
Former Chief Minister Kumaraswamy's remarks about women beung misled by Congress guarantees were rebuffed, with Shalet Pinto asserting that it was JDS leaders who had strayed from principles, resulting in the suffering of numerous women and their families. Urging for Prajwal's immediate arrest and stringent punishment, she spoke on the necessity of ensuring women's safety for the protection of the nation.
The protesters condemned the BJP and its ally JDS for failing to safeguard women, asserting that only the Congress could lead the country to development.
Shantala Gatti, Sasikala, Tanveer Shah, Sarika Pujari, and Shahul Hameed, among others were present.
