No Modi wave in Karnataka but one in favour of Cong govt: Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said there is "no Modi wave" in Karnataka but there is one in favour of Congress government's guarantee schemes, as he claimed his party will win about 20 out of total 28 Lok Sabha polls in the state.
He was speaking to reporters after casting his vote at his native village Siddaramanahundi in this district.
Voting was underway on Friday in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka in 14 constituencies.
"There is no Modi wave in Karnataka, the wave that is there is the 'guarantee wave'. Congress will win about 20 seats, because our guarantee schemes have reached the people and without any middlemen the money is reaching the bank accounts of the people directly every month," Siddaramaiah said.
He expressed confidence about people "blessing" the Congress party, as they did during the Assembly polls last year which saw his party scoring a thumping win.
Asked as to how many seats the Congress will win out of 14 seats in the first phase, the Chief Minister said, "It cannot be said correctly as of now, as it is a secret ballot, but we will win the majority of the seats."
Responding to a question, he said, "We will win both Mysore and Chamarajanagar seats."
Stakes are also high for Siddaramaiah, as victory in his home turf of Mysore and Chamarajanagar is seen as important, analysts say.
Poll prospects of the Congress are good in the districts that are going for polls in the second phase, Siddaramaiah said. He had campaigned during the last two days in the constituencies along with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) and Bidar. "We will win both segments," he said.
The second phase of polling in the remaining 14 seats, mostly in the northern part of the state, is on May 7.
Stating that PM Narendra Modi's recent speeches are filled with "frustration", the Chief Minister said, "The speeches he made were not as the Prime Minister of the country. They are anti-Constitution. So I feel he is frustrated, he may have a fear of losing."
Siddaramaiah also accused JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda of indulging in "opportunist politics" and took a dig at the former Prime Minister for reportedly getting emotional and shedding tears recently during campaigning.
"People know that it is artificial and not true. If people bless us we will survive in politics and if they don't we will not survive, what is there to shed tears," he said.
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Bumrah leads India to its biggest Test win on Australian soil
Perth (PTI): Jasprit Bumrah led a feisty bunch of Indian cricketers to their most dominant Test victory on Australian soil, winning by a massive 295 runs in a remarkable turnaround that will find a pride of place among the country's golden moments in international cricket.
The stand-in skipper led by example with a match-haul of 8/72 as India bowled out the hosts, who were in pursuit of a mammoth 534, for 238 in 58.4 overs on the fourth afternoon of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here.
The victory propelled India back to the top of the World Test Championship standings with 61.11 percentage points.
India's previous biggest winning margin in terms of runs was 222 during a 1978 game in Sydney when Australia played an under-strength side due to mass exodus for the Kerry Packer World Series.
India are now 1-0 up in the five-Test series with regular skipper Rohit Sharma ready to take over during the Day/Night game starting December 6 in Adelaide.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be among the heroes with their solid second innings batting performances, it was Bumrah's unbelievable skill-set and self belief during Australia's first innings rout that formed the cornerstone of India's win.
Not many teams have come back after being 150 all-out on the first day but this Indian team has time and again showed that it is built different.
Prior to the Test, Bumrah spoke about embracing challenges and he did walk the talk during all four days.
It was evident from the manner in which he allowed Mohammed Siraj (match haul of five wickets), debutants Harshit Rana (match haul of four wickets) and Nitish Reddy (41 and 37 not out and one wicket) bowl from the Member's End so that they can get extra help due to the ball keeping very low.
Washington Sundar (two wickets and 29 runs), who was preferred after the team management felt that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with 850 plus Test wickets between them, would not be as effective on this track, also did his bit in mopping up the tail.
The victory will bear greater significance because of India's shocking 0-3 whitewash at home by New Zealand.
With three of their automatic first team selections in skipper Rohit, talented Shubman Gill and bowling artist Mohammed Shami ruled out due to different reasons, Bumrah, leading in only his second Test, was left with a lot to do and less options to work with.
Gabba 2021 evokes nostalgia for every Indian cricket fan but Perth 2024 will certainly be right up there considering that no one, save those eleven and the few others in that change room, could have believed that something like this is possible.
Often the job of deputies in cricket is an understated one but it is all about making it easy for the general in charge.
Rahul Dravid had tirelessly done that for Sourav Ganguly during their time and as Rohit Sharma checked-in, he would know that his deputy has at lest tried to remove the ton of pressure on his chest after the home series debacle.
Gambhir Moves
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Credit must also go to head coach Gautam Gambhir, who copped a lot of flak after the defeat to the Black Caps and it was widely believed that rookies Reddy and Harshit got Test caps on his insistence.
Gambhir, who seldom smiles, could afford a grin under the Perth Sun as the burly Harshit and the sinewy Nitish didn't deviate from the script handed to them for the better part of the game.
Nervous Aussies
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Starting the day at 12 for 3 in pursuit of 534, it was about how much time would it take for Australia to capitulate and they eventually did despite a counter-attacking 89 by Travis Head that only delayed the inevitable.
On the last two tours, India started the series at Adelaide, which is believed to have friendlier batting conditions but this time, Australia decided to make the first move putting India on the bounciest surface in the country.
The move only worked for a session and a half before it backfired completely. The Australians had factored in India's vulnerability but decided to punt on their own batting line-up which has been woefully short of runs.
Steve Smith, one of the modern day greats, and Marnus Labuschagne, who has always been obsessed about batting, have had their forms desert them for the longest time.
Then they inducted a rookie in Nathan McSweeney, who isn't particularly tested and also not an opener. It indicated that just like India, Australia will also face a transition, and it's case could be even worse.
Josh Hazlewood had thrown the towel on third evening itself and one shouldn't be surprised if the Australian team management plays on flatter batting decks in the coming matches in order to nullify Bumrah's threat.
But Bumrah is the sort of bowler can tighten the noose whenever he desires and irrespective of conditions.
On the fourth afternoon, he came back to dislodge Head, who was putting on a fight.
That was possibly the best of his eight wickets in the game. It was pitched on length and the compulsive driver that Head is, he didn't expect it to climb from length and it took the outside edge.
