Karnataka: Counting for bypolls to one LS, 2 assembly segments tomorrow
Bengaluru, May 1: Political parties in Karnataka are keenly awaiting the outcome of the bypolls to one Lok Sabha seat and two assembly segments, counting for which will get underway on Sunday.
The voting took place for Belgaum Lok Sabha and Maski and Basavakalyan assembly constituencies on April 17.
There were 30 candidates in the fray -- 10 in Belgaum, 12 in Basavakalyan and eight in Maski.
The bypolls to Belgaum and Basavakalyan took place following the demise of the sitting public representatives Suresh Angadi (BJP) and B Narayan Rao (Congress) due to COVID, while Maski seat fell vacant due to the disqualification of Congress MLA Prathapagouda Patil.
Patil was among Congress MLAs who had resigned from the Assembly in 2019, was disqualified and later joined the BJP later to contest the bypoll on the party ticket.
The contest in Belgaum and Maski is mainly between Congress and the BJP.
In Belgaum, the BJP had fielded Late Suresh Angadi's wife Mangala Suresh Angadi against Congress Karnataka working president Satish Jarkiholi, the Yamkanmardi MLA.
In Maski, BJP's Pratapagouda Patil was in a direct fight against Basanagouda Turvihal of Congress.
JD(S) contested only in Basavakalyan, fielding Syed Yasrab Ali Quadri, while the Congress nominee was Rao's wife Mallamma and Sharanu Salagar was chosen by the BJP.
The victory or defeat will not have any bearing on the stability of the BJP government which has a majority with 118 seats (excluding speaker) in the house of 224 members.
A win will, however, increase Yediyurappa's hold in the party, as well as the government and silence his critics within the party, who want him to be removed.
If the Congress wins the bypolls, it will give ammunition to target the government on the issue of 'failure' to provide good governance and check corruption.
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Waqf (Amendment) Bill 'assault' on Constitution: Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday termed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as a "brazen assault" on the Constitution, saying it was part of the BJP's strategy to keep society in a state of "permanent polarisation".
Hours after the Lok Sabha passed the Waqf amendment bill, Gandhi said the bill was "bulldozed" through in the lower house.
Addressing Congress MPs at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in Samvidhan Sadan here, she also said that the One Nation, One Election Bill is another subversion of the Constitution and the party would strongly oppose it.
"Whether it is education, civil rights and liberties, our federal structure or conduct of elections, the Modi government is dragging the country into an abyss where our Constitution will remain on paper and we know their intention is to demolish even that," she charged.
"It is vital for all of us to continue to fight for what is right and just, to expose Modi government's failing and intention to turn India into a surveillance state," Gandhi told MPs at the meeting.
All party MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, were present at the meeting.
Sonia Gandhi also alleged that the prime minister has rebranded, repackaged and marketed numerous initiatives taken during 2004-2014 as his own personal accomplishments. That too needs to be exposed through our own public outreach activities, she asserted.
Speaking on the functioning of both houses of Parliament, she charged that the Leaders of Opposition are not allowed to speak and the treasury benches are often found to be creating disturbance in a bid to not allow the Congress to raise their issues.
Noting that the BJP members aggressively target Congress-ruled state governments, with "total falsehoods", she urged party MPs to be equally aggressive and raise the failures and mis-governance in BJP-ruled states.
This will mean much more pointed homework and research on our part, she noted.
The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill well past midnight after a 12-hour debate.
The Bill was passed after all amendments moved by the opposition members were rejected by voice votes. It was passed after division of votes -- 288 in favour and 232 against. The Bill will now come up in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
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