No issues over alliance and seat-sharing with BJP for LS poll: HD Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru: Karnataka JD(S) President H D Kumaraswamy on Friday said there are no issues with respect to his party's alliance with the BJP, and also regarding seat sharing between the two parties in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The former Chief Minister also did not rule out the possibility of his brother-in-law and noted cardiac surgeon Dr C N Manjunath contesting the Lok Sabha election.
Kumaraswamy and his son Nikhil met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Thursday, and they are said to have held discussions regarding seat sharing.
"There are no issues with respect to alliance in any way, there are also no issues regarding seat sharing. Our intention is -- the alliance should win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state," Kumaraswamy said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said both parties will take the decisions together.
JD(S) formally joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year and both parties decided to fight the Lok Sabha polls together.
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To a question regarding Manjunath contesting the polls, the JDS leader said, "everyone has positive opinion of him for his service to the state and to the medical field, based on that some people have expressed their feelings about bringing him to politics, but he has said that he has not decided yet. Let's see when the time comes, what to decide."
There is intense speculation about Manjunath being fielded as the alliance's candidate from Bengaluru Rural constituency, currently represented by Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh.
According to some reports, he may contest on a BJP ticket, based on arrangement between both parties.
Asked about the possibility of a JD(S) leader D Kupendra Reddy winning the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, Kumaraswamy said, "All of us take up any journey with a desire to win the goal. Whether the desire will be fulfilled or not will be known after polls on February 27."
BJP-JD(S) combine have fielded Reddy as its second candidate, even though the alliance has the strength to win only one out of four seats.
Kumaraswamy said he has not been able to participate in the ongoing Assembly session as doctors have advised him "voice rest" and not to speak much.
Hitting out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his recent speech in the Legislative Council, targeting the central government and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while demanding central funds for the state, he accused him of bringing down the state's pride.
Seeking to know whether the CM was turning Karnataka into a "beggar state", he said, "Karnataka is a wealthy state. When it comes to its own tax revenues, Karnataka stands number one in the country. There is no shortage of funds. To quench your thirst to loot you are emptying the state's coffers. The coffers are getting empty not because of guarantee schemes."
He also alleged that the state government is constantly in a confrontation mode with the Centre.
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Sensex, Nifty surge nearly 2 pc as US suspends additional 26 pc tariffs on India till July 9
Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark Sensex surged by 1,310 points while Nifty closed above 22,900 level on Friday on gains in banking, oil and metal shares as investors rejoiced the 90-day suspension of additional import duties by the US.
Defying a bearish trend in world markets, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,310.11 points or 1.77 per cent to settle at 75,157.26. During the day, it soared 1,620.18 points or 2.19 per cent to 75,467.33.
The NSE Nifty surged 429.40 points or 1.92 per cent to 22,828.55. In intra-day trade, the benchmark rallied 524.75 points or 2.34 per cent to 22,923.90.
The US announced suspension of additional tariffs on India for 90 days until July 9 this year, according to the White House executive orders. On April 2, US President Donald Trump slapped universal duties on about 60 countries exporting goods to America and additional steep levies on countries like India, potentially impacting sales of products from shrimp to steel in the world's biggest economy.
Tata Steel was the lead gainer among Sensex shares, rising by 4.91 per cent after the company announced a transformation plan, including job cuts, for its Netherlands steel plant to improve efficiency and margins.
HDFC Bank rose by 2.33 per cent, emerging as the biggest contributor to the Sensex's rise. Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC and Adani Ports were among the gainers.
IT behemoth TCS dropped 0.43 per cent after the company reported a 1.7 per cent decline in the March quarter net profit due to lower margins. Asian Paints declined 0.76 per cent.
"An unexpected pause on reciprocal tariffs by the US provided relief in the midst of the uncertainty. Though the IT major’s (TCS) result missed the street estimates, it opines optimism in the latter half of FY26 owing to growth in the order book," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 3.04 per cent and midcap index rallied 1.84 per cent.
All BSE sectoral indices ended higher. Commodities surged the most by 3.40 per cent, followed by consumer durables (2.92 per cent), utilities (2.76 per cent), power (2.64 per cent), energy (2.51 per cent), industrials (2.34 per cent) and consumer discretionary (2.25 per cent).
As many as 3,115 stocks advanced while 846 declined and 118 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Equity markets would remain closed on Monday for Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.
World markets largely slumped amid growing concerns due to a tit-for-tat tariff war between China and the US.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index and South Korea's Kospi settled lower while Shanghai SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dropped nearly 3 per cent. European markets were trading lower.
US markets ended significantly lower on Thursday a day after a sharp rally. The Nasdaq composite tanked 4.31 per cent, S&P 500 slumped 3.46 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.50 per cent.
China on Friday raised its additional tariffs on imports from the US to 125 per cent in retaliation to the Trump administration's 145 per cent levies on Chinese exports.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,358.02 crore on Wednesday.
Indian stock markets were closed on Thursday for Shri Mahavir Jayanti.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.32 per cent to USD 63.53 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark dropped 379.93 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 73,847.15. The Nifty declined 136.70 points or 0.61 per cent to 22,399.15.
