Campaigning for December 5 bypolls in Karnataka ends
Bengaluru, Dec 3: The high-octane campaign for the December 5 bypolls in Karnataka that will determine the future of the BJP government in the state ended on Tuesday, with leaders of political parties making a last bid to woo voters.
The byelections to 15 assembly constituencies saw BJP seeking votes for "stability", while the Congress and JD(S) urged the electorate to defeat the disqualified legislators responsible for the collapse of their coalition government, who are now the ruling party candidates.
For the BJP, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa led from the front and went on a campaign blitz, while CLP leader Siddaramaiah spearheaded the Congress electioneering, though a sizable number of leaders stayed away, amid reports of disgruntlement within the grand old party.
JD(S)' campaign was led by former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, while his father and party patriarch H D Deve Gowda also campaigned in a few constituencies.
With BJP needing to win at least six seats in the bypolls for the survival of his government, Yediyurappa has made at least two visits to all 15 constituencies, while his ministers camped in the segments that they were made in-charge of.
Exuding confidence about BJP winning in all 15 constituencies, Yediyurappa on Tuesday said there would be a stable government in the state and he would present a "pro farmer" budget in February.
"I have visited all the 15 constituencies twice; there is pro-BJP atmosphere everywhere, beyond our expectation. I have already said that we will win all 15 constituencies," he said.
With the party fielding 13 disqualified legislators as candidates, BJP faced some dissidence within as aspirants expressed displeasure, but attempts were made to pacify them by making them heads of boards and corporations.
However, at Hoskote Sharath Bachegowda rebelled, leading to his expulsion, while in Kagwad Raju Kage joined Congress and is now its candidate.
There was rebellion in Vijayanagara and Gokak too.
Siddaramaiah targeted disqualified legislators throughout the campaign, saying that defeating them was his main agenda.
Claiming that people were angry with the disqualified legislators as they were "destroying" democracy, he said on Tuesday that they have sold themselves for money and had insulted the voters.
Accusing the BJP of 'misusing' government machinery in the run-up to the bypolls, he said people have decided to vote for the Congress in all the 15 constituencies.
Among 15 constituencies going to the bypolls, 12 were held by Congress and three by JD(S),whose coalition government collapsed due to rebellion by the disqualified MLAs.
BJP has fielded 13 of the 16 disqualified legislators who joined the party as its candidates from their respective constituencies.
Siddaramaiah and KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao were the only two Congress' top leaders who dominated the party's campaign.
Sources said several senior leaders, disgruntled over their 'unilateral' style of functioning and selection of candidates, did not play an active role in the campaign.
However, leaders like D K Shivakumar, Mallikarjun Kharge and G Parameshwara, among others, joined in for campaigning during the last few days.
JD(S) mostly concentrated its campaign in constituencies that the party feels it can win, including K R Pete, Yeshwanthpura and Hunsur.
The regional party, that had fielded candidates in 14 constituencies and decided to support BJP rebel and independent candidate Sharath Bachegowda in Hoskote, faced a set back with its nominees in Athani and Hirekerur withdrawing candidature at the last moment.
However,speculation about the possible coming together of Congress and JD(S) once again to form a coalition government in case BJP failed to garner the required number of seats in the bypolls, after the political developments in Maharashtra, dominated the last few days of campaigning, with leaders of both parties indicating they were not averse to the idea.
JD(S) meanwhile backtracked from such possibilities with the Congress,with Gowda and Kumaraswamy sending mixed signals.
It had initially sent similar feelers to BJP too.
While most of the constituencies going for the by polls are facing a direct contest between Congress and BJP, in the southern parts of the state JD(S) comes into the picture, making it a triangular fight.
The 15 constituencies that will go to the bypolls are Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapur, Hirekerur, Ranibennur, Vijayanagar, Chikballapur, KR Puram, Yeshwanthpur, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagar, Hoskote, KR Pet and Hunsur.
The bypolls were necessitated after the resignation and absence during the trust vote of 17 Congress-JD(S) legislators, which led to the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy headed coalition government and paved the way for BJP to come to power.
The 17 legislators were subsequently disqualified by the then Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar
However, the Supreme Court that heard the MLA's petition challenging the disqualification, last month allowed them to contest the bypolls.
The bypolls were earlier slated for October 21 but the EC had deferred them to December 5 after the apex court decided to hear the petitions of the disqualified MLAs.
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
