Davangere, October 15: Four persons including a mother and her daughter died when lightning struck them during a rain coupled with gusty wind and lightning, in the district on Monday.
The deceased have been identified as Lalitha Bai (28) and her daughter Shwetha (11) of Chennahalli Thanda in Harapanahalli taluk, Shantamma (60) of Gowdikatte and Ajjaiah (38) of Kalenahalli in Jagalur taluk.
Both mother and daughter died on the spot when the lightning struck them while working in the field on Monday afternoon. When Lalitha Bai and Shwetha have gone to the field to pick up cucumber in the field, it started to rain heavily. As it was raining heavily, both of them were having lunch when the lightning struck them. Tahsildar Dr. Madhu, Taluk Panchayat Member Hulikatte Chandrappa visited the spot and assured of getting them the compensation from the government.
Shantamma died on the way to her home from her field due to lightning. In the same way, Ajjaiah also died when the lightning struck him while working in the field.


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Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
