CM Siddaramaiah justifies killing of Maoist leader in encounter
Bengaluru, Nov 20: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday appeared to justify the killing of Maoist leader Vikram Gowda in an encounter with the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), noting that he faced multiple criminal cases and also chose to ignore the government's direction to lay down arms and join the mainstream.
"There is a standing order. We have said that if they (Naxals) surrender they will be given all the facilities. He (Gowda) did not surrender. Kerala government had announced Rs 25 lakh reward on him, our government had announced Rs 5 lakh reward," Siddaramaiah said, in response to a question on some "intellectuals" expressing doubts about the encounter on Monday.
"You should appreciate it (the encounter). Should Naxalism remain or go?" he asked.
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Gowda (46) was killed in an alleged exchange of fire between the ANF and a group of Maoists near Peetebailu village in Kabbinale area near Hebri of Udupi district.
According to officials, he was one of the most wanted Maoist leaders from Karnataka, facing 61 cases, including murder and extortion, in the state and 19 in Kerala.
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Most exit polls predict victory for BJP-led alliances in Maharashtra, Jharkhand
New Delhi, Nov 20: Several exit polls on Wednesday gave a clear edge to the BJP-led alliances in Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly polls while some put the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition ahead in the western state.
Axis MyIndia was the only one to predict victory for the Congress-JMM alliance in Jharkhand with 53 seats out of 81 as against only 25 for BJP-led NDA and three seats for others.
Exit polls were out soon after the close of polling in Maharashtra and the second phase of voting in Jharkhand, predicting victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra and the NDA in Jharkhand.
In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, 145 is the majority mark, while it is 41 in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. The BJP-Shiv-Sena-NCP alliance is in power in Maharashtra while JMM-Congress is ruling in Jharkhand.
Counting of votes would take place on November 23 for the single-phase Maharashtra election held on Wednesday and the two-phased voting in Jharkhand on November 13 and 20.
While the Matrize exit poll conducted in a tie-up with several news organisations predicted 150-170 seats for the BJP and allies in Maharashtra with a 48 per cent vote share, it gave the Congress and other allies only 110-130 seats with a vote share of 42 per cent. The poll gave others 8 to 10 seats, with a vote share of 10 per cent.
In Jharkhand, the Matrize Exit poll predicted 42-47 seats for NDA and 25-30 seats for the INDIA bloc and gave 0-4 seats to others.
The exit poll conducted by People's Pulse gave NDA's Mahayuti a whopping 175-195 seats while giving only 85-112 seats to MVA and 7-12 to others in Maharashtra.
In Jharkhand, People's Pulse predicted 44-53 seats for NDA and 25-37 seats for INDIA Bloc while giving 5-9 seats to others.
Axis MyIndia has predicted a 45 per cent vote share for the INDIA bloc and 37 per cent for the NDA.
Another exit poll by P-MARQ in Maharashtra gave the NDA a total of 137-157 seats and INDIA Bloc's MVA 126-146 seats while giving 2-8 seats to others.
On the other hand, the poll conducted by Electoral Edge predicted MVA to win 150 seats while giving 121 seats to BJP-led Mahayuti and 20 seats to others in Maharashtra.
Exit polls by Poll Diary predicted the NDA to win in 122-186 seats and the MVA 69-121 while forecasting 12-29 seats for others in Maharashtra.
Chanakya Strategies, another pollster, predicted 152-160 seats for Mahayuti and 130-138 seats for MVA while giving 6-8 seats for others in Maharashtra.
Lokshahi Rudra has predicted a close fight between Mahayuti and MVA in Maharashtra and gave them 128-142 seats and 125-140 respectively. It gave others 18-23 seats.
The exit poll by Lokpoll gave Mahayuti 115-128 seats, with 37-40 per cent vote share, and predicted victory for MVA in 151-162 seats, giving them 43-46 per cent vote share. It gave others 5-14 seats with a vote share of 16-19 per cent.
Some exit polls have also predicted the BJP's victory in 5-7 seats out of bypolls held in nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.
A survey conducted by Delhi University's Centre for Global Studies (CGS) has predicted electoral victories for the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra and the NDA in Jharkhand.
The Election Commission has criticised the exit polls on the manner in which they have been conducted and in several past elections, they have been proved way off the mark.
