Many leaders from other parties to join BJP ahead of 2023 assembly elections: Minister R Ashoka
Hassan Apr 27 (PTI): Karnataka BJP leader and Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Wednesday said many leaders from other parties will be joining the saffron party ahead of assembly elections next year, in the wake of its victory in four states and the stand taken by the Congress on the hijab issue.
He said the BJP will win Karnataka assembly polls, like it did in Uttar Pradesh last month.
"Not one or two, many people (leaders) will come (to BJP), arrangements are on for the induction of many people, after BJP's victory in four states and the stand taken by the Congress on hijab and other issues," Ashoka told reporters here.
Pointing out that the Congress did not take up the hijab issue in the assembly session that went on for a month, but went on an overdrive over the issue outside the House, he said, "they were violent outside but silent in the assembly."
Both state Congress President D K Shivakumar and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah took a divergent stand on the issue, Ashoka said and claimed that the former CM wanted to speak on the hijab controversy but Shivakumar did not want the party to voice out on the issue.
"People are aware as to whom the Congress wants to appease," he added.
Expressing confidence about the BJP winning the 2023 assembly polls in Karnataka, the minister said the party leadership has prepared and given to the state unit a "blueprint" in this regard.
"As part of it, party leaders have travelled across the state in three teams and in the next step, rallies will be held across the state," he said, adding that the BJP will be going into the elections fully prepared to win.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his visit to the state earlier this month, had set a target of 150 seats (in the 225 member assembly) to Karnataka BJP leaders for next year's assembly elections in the state, where the ruling party is eyeing a successive term.
Shah had attended the state BJP core committee meeting during the visit, which also discussed induction of leaders from other political parties ahead of elections, and strengthening the organisation.
"People from other parties are eager to join the BJP, the state president will form a team to look into this, and will take a decision," a senior BJP leader had then said.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
