Karnataka MLC polls on Friday, 90 candidates in the fray
Bengaluru, Dec 9: Voting for biennial election to the Karnataka Legislative Council's 25 seats from 20 Local Authorities' Constituencies will take place on Friday, for which 90 candidates are in the fray.
The polling will be held between 8 am to 4 pm, the results of which will be declared on December 14.
Out of total 90 candidates in the fray, twenty each are from BJP and Congress, six from JD(S), 33 independents and rest are all from smaller parties.
Among the candidates, there is only one woman from Chikmagalur.
According to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, there are 6,072 polling stations, and 23,065 polling officials including micro observers, have been deployed for poll duty.
The electorate for this election comprises elected members of urban and rural local bodies, and unlike legislative assembly or Lok Sabha polls, council contests are decided by preferential votes.
The election is necessitated as the term of 25 incumbent MLCs 14 Congress, seven BJP and four JD(S) will end on January 5 next year.
The poll outcome will have a bearing on the power equation in the 75-member Upper House, where the ruling BJP wants to gain a majority.
Both BJP and Congress have claimed that they will win maximum seats in this election, while JD(S) has expressed confidence about winning all the six seats it is contesting.
With the aim to get a majority in the Council, State BJP strongman and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had openly sought JD(S)' support for BJP candidates in the seats where the regional party is not contesting.
However, amid buzz about a possible pact with the ruling BJP, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy recently said that local leaders have been authorised to take a decision on whom to support in the seats where his party is not contesting, keeping in mind the prospects for the 2023 assembly election.
The JD(S) has fielded only six candidates, while the BJP and Congress are contesting in 20 seats each.
Interestingly, M K Pranesh, who is Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council, Leader of the House and Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary, and the ruling side's chief whip Mahantesh Kavatagimath are seeking re-election in this election from Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada and Belagavi seats respectively on a BJP ticket.
The candidates in the fray from all the parties in this election had sparked a "nepotism debate", as several candidates are close relatives of senior leaders from their respective parties.
The polls will also see one more member of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda family entering electoral politics, with his grandson Suraj Revanna being fielded as JD(S) candidate from Hassan.
Congress has fielded a multi billionaire candidate from Bangalore Urban, Yousuf Sharif who has declared assets belonging to him and his family worth over Rs 1,744 crore.
The elections is being held for two seats each from the local authorities constituencies of Bijapur, Belgaum, Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru; and one each from Bidar, Gulbarga, Uttara Kannada, Raichur, Bellary, Chitradurga, Shivamogga, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Tumakuru, Mandya, Bangalore, Bangalore Rural, Kolar and Kodagu.
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Thousands protest in Washington DC against Trump ahead of inauguration
Washington: Thousands of people have gathered in Washington to protest against Donald Trump's policies ahead of his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.
Trump, 78, succeeds Joe Biden, 82, on Tuesday as the new occupant of the White House. A coalition of nonprofit bodies, including Sakhi for South Asian Survivors, under the banner of People’s March, held the demonstration here to protest against the policies of Trump.
The People's March - previously known as the Women's March - has taken place every year since 2017.
Displaying anti-Trump posters and banner, the protestors raised slogans against the next President and also against some of his close supporters including Tesla owner Elon Musk.
The same group had also held a similar protest on January 2017, when Trump was inaugurated for the first time.
There were a series of three protests which started from three different parks and culminated near the Lincoln Memorial.
“Mass protest is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate to our communities that we are not obeying in advance or bowing to fascism, and invites them to do the same,” People’s March said.
The rallies coincide with Trump's arrival to the nation's capital for a series of weekend events in the lead-up to his swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
Amongst the coalition members are Abortion Action Now, Time to Act, SisterSong, Women’s March, Popular Democracy In Action, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, The Feminist Front, NOW, Planned Parenthood, National Women’s Law Centre Action Fund, Sierra Club, and the Frontline.
Women’s March is anchoring the logistics of the mobilisation. Similar marches, though at a smaller scale, were also held in various other cities including New York, Seattle and Chicago.
“We really wanted to come to support women, equality, immigration, everything that really feels like we don't have much of a say in right now," Brittany Martinez, one of the protesters, told USA TODAY.
Law enforcement officials said protests and major events are being planned throughout the weekend ahead of the inauguration on Monday. The protestors condemned Trump’s policies and values. Many of them chanted, "Trans Lives Matter!", “Stand up, fight back!”, “Trust Black women!” and “We cannot be silent.”
