'Deve Gowda most welcome to contest from my constituency': Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda
Bengaluru, Jan 27: Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda Sunday said former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda was 'most welcome' to contest from his Bangalore North parliamentary constituency in the coming Lok Sabha polls, as he expressed confidence that he would succeed, if given an opportunity.
"Most welcome...till now I was contesting against small people. I entered parliament for the first time after defeating Veerappa Moily (former union minister)," Gowda said in response to a question from reporters about Gowda contesting from Bangalore North constituency.
I wish to contest against Deve Gowda once. if God gives me an opportunity I will contest and will succeed."
Sadananda Gowda is the sitting Member of Parliament from Bangalore North.
Meanwhile, Deve Gowda, in response to a question on whether he would contest from that constituency, Sunday said, "why (discuss about it) now itself..."
The former Prime Minister had in March said he would not be contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
However, recent reports have suggested that pressure is mounting on him to contest from Bengaluru North or Mandya constituencies.
According to reports, during the recent party meeting, a section of leaders from Bengaluru proposed the idea of the JD(S) supremo contesting from Bangalore North as it would help the ruling coalition gain hold in the city.
Vokkaligas, the community to which Gowda belongs, have a considerable presence in the constituency, along with minorities.
Currently, BJP has its hold over the three Lok Sabha constituencies Bangalore- North, South and Central.
Noting that the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition are yet to discuss seat sharing,Deve Gowda said his earlier comments of his grandson Prajwal Revanna contesting from Hassan was his personal wish and the party was yet to decide on it.
"Has Congress and JD(S) decided on any seat till now? None...
On Hassan you in the media have discussed several times, so I had said why do you worry, I will make my grandson (Prajwal) contest," the JD(S) supremo said.
This is my personal statement. Our party's parliamentary board has not yet decided. I have expressed my personal feeling in front of you," he added.
Gowda had recently given a clear indication about his grandson Prajwal Revanna contesting the LS polls from Hassan, the JD(S) bastion that he has been representing.
Prajwal is the son of Gowda's elder son and senior JD(S) leader, PWD Minister HD Revanna.
Prajwal's candidature will mark the entry of the third generation of Gowda family into electoral politics; with both his father and uncle- Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy already at the helm of states political affairs.
There are also reports that a section within the party was pushing Kumaraswamy's son and Prajwals cousin- Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s candidature from Mandya, if Deve Gowda chooses not to contest from there.
The ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka will take a decision on seat sharing for the coming Lok Sabha elections in three or four days, coalition coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah had said Thursday.
JD(S) has already expressed its desire to contest in 12 seats, on which the Congress party has some reservations.
The Congress has said seat sharing would be on the basis of 'merit'.
Seat sharing is expected to be a litmus test for both parties, mostly in old Mysuru region constituencies, where JD(S) has emerged as a dominant force in the recent past and Congress has its sitting MPs.
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LPG bookings close to normal, but situation continues to be worrisome
New Delhi (PTI): Bookings for domestic LPG refills are approaching pre-war normal levels, signalling a gradual return to normalcy, but concerns persist as supply restrictions on commercial consumers, including hotels, remain in place due to ongoing disruptions in input supplies caused by the West Asia conflict.
Over 33 crore domestic LPG consumers had, on average, booked about 55 lakh cylinders daily before the February 28 military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran. The escalation triggered sweeping retaliation from Tehran, effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz - a critical shipping corridor used by major Gulf producers such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to export crude oil, gas and LPG to key markets including India.
The shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz blocked India's access to almost 60 per cent of its LPG, leading to curtailment of supplies to commercial users and triggering panic buying by domestic users, which peaked to 87.7 lakh on March 13.
Bookings have since fallen to 56-57 lakh on March 18, said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
"Panic booking is coming down," she said, adding that the government continues to prioritise the supply of available LPG to domestic households.
However, "LPG (supply) situation remains worrisome but there is no dry out at any LPG distributor," she said.
Commercial users are getting just a fifth of their requirement.
Sharma said domestic LPG production has increased by over 40 per cent in the last two weeks and the three public sector oil marketing companies have been making normal, pre-war levels of daily deliveries of LPG refills.
"Our supply has not dipped. Some days the supply has been higher (than pre-war times). On March 18, 54.91 lakh LPG cylinders were delivered against a booking of over 56 lakh," she said.
Oil companies are operating extra shifts to keep LPG deliveries in pace with the bookings. They delivered 62.5 lakh cylinders on March 13 and 60 lakh on March 14 - the peak two days of panic bookings.
LPG supplies are under close monitoring amid the prevailing geopolitical tensions, with no dry-outs reported at distributorships and domestic cylinder deliveries continuing uninterrupted, she said.
Online bookings have risen sharply to 94 per cent, while Delivery Authentication Code (a unique OTP that is sent to registered mobile numbers of actual users to ensure LPG is being delivered to correct customers) coverage has expanded to 83 per cent.
In addition, customers near a city gas network are being encouraged to shift to piped natural gas - a convenient alternative to LPG as the fuel continuously travels through pipes to household kitchens without the botheration of refill bookings.
"In the last two weeks, 1.25 lakh new domestic, commercial and industrial connections have been issued," she said.
Raids and inspections to stop black marketing continue with seizure of cylinders as well as FIRs in several states.
The Union government on March 18 wrote to all state governments asking them to take all steps to prevent black marketing and hoarding while taking stringent actions against violators.
Besides, alternate fuels such as kerosene are being promoted, she said adding commercial LPG stocks have been placed with states for using them as per their priority list.
