Congress will win over 140 seats, will abide by party's decision on CM issue: D K Shivakumar
New Delhi(PTI): Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar Saturday exuded confidence that his party would win over 140 seats in the May 10 assembly polls and asserted that he would abide by whatever the party decides on the issue of chief ministership.
In an interview with PTI, Shivakumar said the Congress will get a comfortable majority in Karnataka and the win would open the doors for the Lok Sabha elections as the party's victory in the state in 1978 had done.
The Karnataka Congress chief lashed out at the BJP for raising issues such as the Uniform Civil Code and National Register of Citizens in its manifesto for the assembly polls, saying it shows their "bankruptcy" of ideas and vision for the state.
He also claimed that since the BJP has no agenda and vision for Karnataka, the "Modi factor" will not work in the assembly polls this time.
Shivakumar, who is a leading aspirant for the chief minister's post along with former CM Siddarammaiah in case the Congress comes to power, said all stories of infighting in the party are created by media and there is no truth in them.
"The fact is that the Congress leadership is united and the party workers are very active in spreading our message both on the ground and in social media. We are putting a combined effort to ensure that the Congress comes back to power with a clear majority," he asserted.
On him being a strong contender for the post of chief minister, Shivakumar said his first priority was to ensure that the party wins a majority in Karnataka.
"For the last three years, the Congress party has been working on the ground starting from the Vaccinate Karnataka Campaign, to the 100 Not Out Campaign followed by Mekedatu Campaign to Freedom March and registering 78 lakh members of the Congress party. Then we made the Bharat Jodo Yatra a grand success in Karnataka," he said.
Congress leaders and workers have not taken rest for a single day in the last three years, he said, adding that whatever is being seen now is the faith of people that the party's hard work has won.
"For me, the party comes first and the chief ministership comes later. On the CM issue, I will abide by whatever the party decides," Shivakumar said.
Asked about the controversy surrounding the Congress manifesto talking about taking decisive action as per law, including imposing a ban on organizations such as PFI and Bajrang Dal, Shivakumar alleged that the BJP was trying to divide the society.
"The BJP government could not provide jobs to our youth. They failed to provide any relief to the common man when it came to inflation and price rise. Now they are trying to divide the society by inflammatory speeches," he alleged.
This will not work in Karnataka and people will sweep them aside, he claimed.
Asked about Karnataka being the gateway to the south for the BJP, Shivakumar said the people of Karnataka have "closed the gate on the BJP's face because of non-performance, corruption and large-scale unemployment in the state".
People are supporting Congress in a big way and the party is coming back to power, he claimed.
Asked about the BJP in its election manifesto promising to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Karnataka if it retains power in the state, Shivakumar said this is precisely the problem of the BJP.
They do not understand Karnataka and its people, the Congress leader alleged.
"Karnataka Assembly elections are being fought on local issues. The BJP, which could not deliver on any front during its governance, has also failed to give a narrative in these elections. This shows their bankruptcy of ideas and vision for the state," he said.
Asked about Prime Minister Modi raising the issue of abuses hurled at him, the Congress leader said the people of Karnataka are very civilized and they do not believe in using and even responding to crude language.
The Congress party too does not believe in using abusive language. It is the BJP that has mastered the art of twisting the statements and manipulating the people, he alleged.
On whether the Modi factor will work this time, Shivakumar said the Congress is fighting these elections on a progressive and development-based agenda.
"We will provide Rs 2,000 per month to every woman head of the family, 200 units of free power to every household apart from free bus travel for women in KSRTC/BMTC buses and a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates.
"As I said, the BJP has no agenda and vision for the state and people can very well see this. So the Modi factor will not work this time in these assembly polls," he said.
Expressing confidence that the Congress would cross the 140-seat mark, Shivakumar said, "We will win 141 seats and form government with a comfortable majority. The BJP will be reduced to less than 60 (seats)."
On the message that would be sent out through the Karnataka polls for the 2024 general election, he said Karnataka was just the beginning.
"We are comfortably winning Karnataka elections and it will open the doors for the Lok Sabha elections. Karnataka people will give a message to the country. Earlier also at the time of Devraj Urs (former chief minister), when the Janata Party was in power at the national level in 1978, Karnataka had opened the door for Congress. Now again, Karnataka will play its role," Shivakumar said.
"We will form government in Karnataka in 2023 and in the country in 2024," he said.
Voting for the 224 assembly seats in the state will take place on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
