Jagadish Shettar, Sonia Gandhi, Tharoor in Cong's list of star campaigners for Karnataka polls
New Delhi (PTI): Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who joined the Congress this week after quitting the BJP, figures in the Congress' list of star campaigners for the Karnataka Assembly polls that also includes party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor.
The Congress on Wednesday released a list of 40 leaders who would be the party's star campaigners for the May 10 assembly elections.
Interestingly, Shettar, who crossed over to the Congress a couple of days ago and has been given the party ticket from the Hubli-Dharwad-Central Assembly segment that he currently represents, has been included in the list.
A staunch RSS man, Shettar was part of the Jan Sangh and BJP for several decades before severing his ties with the party upon his candidature being overlooked for the May 10 election and joined Congress on Monday.
The Congress' list of star campaigners has many stalwarts from Karnataka such as former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar, Jairam Ramesh, M Veerappa Moily, M B Patil, G Parameshwara, K H Muniyappa and BK Hariprasad.
Others include Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukku, AICC in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala, senior party leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, P Chidambaram, Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan.
Sachin Pilot, who was on the list of star campaigners for the 2018 Karnataka polls, does not figure on the list this time.
Ramalinga Reddy, Satish Jarkiholi, D K Suresh, G C Chandrashekhar, Syed Naseer Hussain, Zameer Ahmed Khan, H M Revanna, Umashree, Revanth Reddy, Ramesh Chennithala, Srinivas B V, Raj Babbar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Divya Spandana, Imran Pratapgarhi, Kanhaiya Kumar, Rupa Shashidhar and Sadhukokila are also on the list.
The assembly polls will be held on May 10 and the results will be announced on May 13. The Congress is seeking to oust the BJP from power in the southern state.
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Kerala BJP leader PC George booked for 'hate speech'
Kottayam (Kerala), Jan 11: Kerala BJP leader P C George has been booked for allegedly making remarks that could incite religious hatred, police said on Saturday.
George was accused of hate speech against a minority community during a TV discussion held early this week, sources said.
The Erattupetta Police here registered a case against the senior leader on Friday based on a complaint filed by the Muslim Youth League Municipal Committee.
He was booked under various sections of the BNS, police said adding that further proceedings would be initiated soon.
"The case was registered after the statements of the complainants were recorded," a police officer said. Meanwhile, BJP strongly condemned the police case against George and alleged that it was a "political vendetta by the LDF government."
Senior BJP leader and the party's Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar accused the CPI(M)-led Left government of not saying a word against Hamas and admitting PDF followers into their fold.
Justifying George, Javadekar said he has already clarified that his intention was to express opposition to extremism and not to target any community.
"FIR against PC George is political vendetta by LDF government, which doesn't say a word against Hamas and admits PDF followers into their fold," he posted on his 'X' handle.
"UDF is also guilty of appeasing extremist politics. It never appreciated ban on PDF or condemned Hamas. PC George has already clarified that his intention was to express opposition to extremism & not to target any community. Kerala stands firmly against extremism," he added.
BJP state chief K Surendran also criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan government for registering the case against George and said the party would face the case legally and politically.
He also alleged that the government registered the case against the senior leader under the pressure of communal forces.
FIR against PC George is political vendetta by LDF government, which doesn’t say a word against Hamas and admits PDF followers into their fold.
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) January 11, 2025
UDF is also guilty of appeasement of extremist politics.
It never appreciated ban on PDF or condemned Hamas.
PC George has already…
