Krishna Byre Gowda is the Congress candidate in Bangalore North
JD(S) gives Bangalore North LS seat to Congress
Bengaluru, Mar 25: Karnataka minister Krishna Byre Gowda was Monday named the Congress candidate for Bangalore North Lok Sabha seat, which its coalition partner JD(S) gave back to it.
The decision to field Gowda, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, was taken at a meeting attended by Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao, according to the CLP leader's office.
The choice of Byre Gowda was telephonically conveyed to JDS patriarch H D Deve Gowda, who also gave his consent, it said.
The Congress earlier in the day said the JD(S) conceded the seat and thanked Deve Gowda for the gesture.
The announcement was made with just two days left for filing of nominations for the first phase of polls in Karnataka to be held on April 18.
AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal thanked Deve Gowda for the move calling it a "kind gesture."
"Indian National Congress is thankful to Shri H D DeveGowda ji and the JD(S) for their kind gesture of giving back the Bengaluru North Lok Sabha seat to the Congress.
Together,let us reclaim democracy," Venugopal said in a post on hisFacebook page.
Tuesday is the last date for the filing of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls.
Bangalore North, which will go for polls in the first phase, is one among the eight seats that the JD(S) had got in a seat-sharing deal with the Congress that will contest in 20 out of total 28 seats in the state.
The move by JD(S) to concede the Bangalore North seat to the Congress comes after Deve Gowda on Saturday made official his decision to contest polls from Tumkur.
Though there was pressure within the JD(S) for their party supremo to contest from Bangalore North, it was apprehensive about Congress' complete support there as most party's MLA there are considered close to Gowda's bete noire Siddaramaiah.
It was feared that the MLAs may seek to take revenge for the former Chief Minister's defeat from Chamundeshwari in the 2018 assembly polls.
According to sources, the JD(S) decided to give up the seat to the Congress on not finding any suitable candidate in the party from the seat.
Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who was representing the seat from BJP, has been fielded once again by the party from the constituency.
He filed his nomination on Monday.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
