Cong close to finalising candidates for Karnataka Assembly bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress general secretary and party's Karnataka in-charge, Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Saturday indicated that the party is close to finalising candidates for the upcoming bypolls and that a decision on ticket allocation is likely later in the day or March 22 following consultations with leaders at various levels.
Intense lobbying continued within the Congress regarding the April 9 Assembly bypolls in Davangere South and Bagalkote constituencies, with aspirants and community leaders mounting pressure on the leadership to decide soon.
"In response to your question about when the tickets will be announced, it will be made by tonight or by tomorrow. The party is almost fully in agreement," Surjewala told reporters here.
He said the party wanted to have a broad discussion.
"As I have said earlier, even if a single worker has a differing opinion, it must be heard. That is the Congress Party. We will not bulldoze decisions. We will listen to everyone and then decide," the Congress general secretary said.
According to him, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will take a call.
A recommendation will be sent by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka president, after consultations with everyone by late Saturday, he added.
"The decision will be made by late evening or by tomorrow," Surjewala said.
When asked about the delay in announcing the candidates, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Local leaders will resolve it. I cannot react to everything."
Party leaders held multiple rounds of discussions in Bengaluru, with several aspirants staking claim and delegations, including representatives from the Muslim community, meeting senior leaders to press for greater representation.
The bypolls were necessitated following the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, which resulted in vacancies in the Davanagere South and Bagalkote Assembly segments respectively.
Both leaders had won their seats in the 2023 Assembly elections.
The relatives of Shamanur Shivashankarappa and Meti are demanding a Congress ticket.
Meti's family members earlier met Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar and demanded a ticket.
Siddaramaiah on Wednesday told reporters that three members of the Meti family -- Mallikarjun, Umesh, and Mahadev -- had sought the ticket to contest from Bagalkote.
Shivashankarappa's son S S Mallikarjun, who is Congress Davangere North MLA, is demanding ticket for his son Samarth Shamanur for Davangere South, Congress sources said.
The BJP has announced fielding Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkote and Srinivas T Dasakariyappa from Davangere South.
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.
Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
