Internal reservation, Cong's poll promises led to BJP's defeat in Karnataka: Party MLAs
Bengaluru(PTI): Along with "internal injury" caused by the internal reservation and people voting for Congress believing in its poll guarantees, a negative narrative setting in against the BJP because of its failure in effectively countering certain issues, led to its defeat in the recent Assembly polls in Karnataka, according to party MLAs.
A meeting of BJP MLAs elected to the 16th Assembly convened by state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel here, also decided to take the achievements of nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to every house, and to work towards ensuring a hundred per cent win for the party in all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
BJP had won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka in 2019.
"Along with introducing 22 legislators who have been elected for the first time, the meeting today tried to instill confidence among the legislators to work as a constructive opposition by extending all necessary cooperation to the new government to serve the people of the state," BJP national general secretary C T Ravi said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said, "If the government indulges in anti-people activities, if it takes decisions that are detrimental to the state with a hidden agenda, it was decided at the meeting to fight against it both inside and outside the legislature."
Former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai and Sadananda Gowda, national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh among other senior leaders attended the meeting.
Stating that the meeting also analysed the political situation in the state, the party general secretary said that no ruling party has won a second consecutive term since 1985 in Karnataka.
"There seems to be a natural trend that has set in Karnataka in the last four decades to change the government once in five years, despite that we have won 36 per cent votes, we have got similar vote share we got in 2018, but we lagged behind in gaining seats," he said.
Ravi said, "Along with internal injury caused by the internal reservation and people voting for Congress believing in its guarantees, a negative narrative setting in because of BJP's failure in effectively countering certain issues, led to his party's defeat, was the general opinion expressed in today's meeting."
The BJP will not lose heart with the results and will certainly bounce back as it has done in the past. Our role might have changed from ruling party to opposition, but our commitment towards serving the society has not changed and it will continue to work in that direction, he said.
Regarding who will be the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and also in the Council, Ravi said general secretary Arun Singh is gathering the opinion of the legislators. On the basis of it and in consultation with the party leadership, a decision will be taken at the earliest, he said.
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Rupee rises 10 paise to 92.41/USD; faces risks from rising global tensions
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 10 paise to 92.41 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, even as the USD/INR pair faces risks from rising global tensions, especially the US-Iran conflict.
Forex traders said the rupee is likely to see high volatility intra-day as the deadline for RBI's instructions to banks to curb their overnight positions to USD 100 million closes today.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.58 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.41 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 10 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee settled with a marginal gain of 3 paise at 92.51 against the US dollar.
"An estimated 80–85 per cent of these positions have already been unwound, which means the bulk of this supportive flow is now behind us. In simple terms, the cushion that held the rupee steady is beginning to thin, and this is where the story starts to shift," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.
Pabari further noted that looking ahead, the picture for the rupee appears to be changing. "With most of the NOP-related support now fading and global uncertainties still elevated, the scope for further strength seems limited. USDINR is likely to find a base in the 92.20–92.50 zone, with a gradual move higher towards 93.50–94.00 levels," he said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was higher by 0.07 per cent at 98.69 as the safe-haven demand has come down after the ceasefire, but as the ceasefire is fragile, the US dollar is getting bids at lower levels.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.51 per cent at USD 96.44 per barrel in futures trade, as the ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz opening is keeping the oil trade well bid.
Pabari further noted that just as domestic support begins to fade, the global backdrop is turning uneasy again. "The World Bank has flagged that India's growth for FY27, expected at 6.6 per cent, faces risks from rising global tensions, especially the Iran conflict," he said.
According to Pabari, India continues to have strong buffers in the form of forex reserves and a stable banking system, but pressure points are slowly beginning to build.
On the domestic equity market front, the stock markets witnessed a rebound in early trade. The 30-share Sensex jumped 630.08 points to 77,261.73, while the Nifty climbed 203.6 points to 23,978.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,711.19 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
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