LS poll results will have bearing on CM Siddaramaiah's continuation in post, hints minister
Kolar (Karnataka), Apr 18: Indicating that the Lok Sabha poll results will have a bearing on Siddaramaiah's continuation as chief minister of Karnataka, Minister Byrathi Suresh on Thursday warned that voting for opposition candidates poses a threat to the CM's position.
"(Let your votes) be in favour of Congress, Siddaramaiah and (K V) Gowtham (Kolar Lok Sabha candidate). In case you change your mind and make another candidate win, there will be a threat to Siddaramaiah's (CM) seat. So, I request for your support," Suresh said at a meeting of leaders of the Kuruba community to which Siddaramaiah belongs.
He said, "By voting for Gowtham, you are also voting for Siddaramaiah's leadership."
The statements gain significance amid persistent rumours about a leadership change in the ruling Congress in the state after the Lok Sabha polls, or midway of the current assembly's tenure.
ALSO READ: Congress will win up to 20 LS seats in Karnataka, says CM Siddaramaiah
Amid such speculations, Siddaramaiah had recently asked the people of his Varuna assembly segment to give the Congress candidate a lead of at least 60,000 votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, to ensure that he remains in the post of chief minister.
On the same day in Mandya, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar, who has made no secret about his chief ministerial ambitions, told the people that the desire with which they supported the party in the assembly poll in May last year, keeping him in mind, "will not turn out to be false."
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the assembly election results were declared in May last year. The Congress leadership then managed to convince Shivakumar to take up the deputy chief minister's post.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached, according to which Shivakumar would become the CM after two-and-a-half years. However, this has not been officially confirmed by the party.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
