CM Bommai says BJP's Karnataka unit focusing on RS, MLC elections
Hubballi (K'taka)(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said the BJP is focusing on the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections and held a core committee meeting in this regard.
He also said the cabinet expansion will also be taken up following instructions from the party high command.
"We are currently preparing for the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections. Yesterday itself, we had a core committee meeting in this regard. Seniors are monitoring it," Bommai told reporters on arriving in Hubballi.
Biennial elections to four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka and two graduates' and teachers' constituencies each of the state Legislative Council will be held on June 10 and 13, respectively.
Also, biennial elections to the Karnataka Legislative Council for seven seats will be held on June 3.
The Chief Minister said during his visit to Delhi he had said that after the Supreme Court verdict on holding elections to local bodies, many governments may declare polls and several decisions are likely to be taken in this regard.
The reply was in reference to local body elections in some places, including Bengaluru civic body, which may be announced soon.
Regarding the state cabinet expansion, Bommai said he will once again contact the party high command over phone and based on the instruction, a cabinet reshuffle may be taken up.
There are five ministerial posts against the 34 sanctioned posts that are lying vacant in Karnataka and many ruling BJP legislators are aspiring to become ministers, BJP sources said.
To a query on reports that former chief minister B S Yediyurappa's son and BJP state vice president B Y Vijayendra may make an entry to the legislative council and become a minister, he said everything is left to the party high command.
Regarding Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar meeting JD(S) MLA from Chamundeshwari constituency G T Deve Gowda to gain foothold in the old Mysuru region, the Chief Minister said many changes take place in politics.
To a question on opposition parties charging him as being a weak chief minister, Bommai said, "It's only you (journalists) who say this. We resolved the hijab issue, azaan issue and halal issue in a harmonious way. The azaan case was also resolved based on the Supreme Court guidelines. The hijab case was also resolved as per the court directions."
"We were able to solve disputes within the framework of law and as per the Supreme Court guidelines. We performed our duty in a perfect way," the Chief Minister said.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
