No "political ties" between Congress, JD(S) for RS or 2023 Assembly poll: Siddaramaiah
Karwar, May 26: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday ruled out any "political relationship" between his party and the JD(S) either during the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls or the 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka.
His statement gains significance, as none of the three parties has an adequate number of votes to win the fourth Rajya Sabha seat from the State Assembly.
The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly also made it clear that he would not go to national politics, and would remain active in the State.
"There will not be any relationship (alliance or understanding) with JD(S)...we (Congress) will not have any political relationship with JD(S)," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
The June 10 election to four Rajya Sabha seats is necessitated as the term of office of members -- Nirmala Sitharaman (Union Finance Minister) and K C Ramamurthy of BJP, and Jairam Ramesh and late Oscar Fernandes of Congress -- is due to expire on June 30. The last date of filing nominations is May 31.
A candidate needs 45 votes to win in this RS election, and based on the current party position in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP can win two seats and Congress one, official sources said, adding that the JD(S) can win one, provided it gets the support of either one of the national parties.
Similarly, in case the BJP or Congress wants to win the extra (fourth) seat, they will need JD(S)' support, they said.
According to party sources, Congress may once again field Jairam Ramesh from the State for the seat it can win on its own strength.
In reply to a question, the former Chief Minister said he would remain limited to Karnataka and would not go for national politics.
"I will remain in Karnataka politics and continue to voice the concerns of the State and its people," he added.
Siddaramaiah had earlier said that the 2023 Assembly election would be his last, but would continue to remain in politics.
It is no secret that Siddaramaiah, who was Chief Minister between 2013-2018, is nursing his ambition for a second term in office, if the party wins the next Assembly polls.
With State Congress president D K Shivakumar, too, having similar aspirations, it has triggered a game of one-upmanship between the two leaders.
Responding to a question on the demand from some section within the party for a "Dalit CM" on coming to power, the Congress Legislative Party leader said the Chief Ministerial candidate cannot be forced, and on party coming to power with a majority, newly elected MLAs would share their opinion, following which the high command would decide.
"A Chief Minister candidate cannot be forced. Dalits should also become CM, there is no second talk about it, others should also become. In a democratic system everyone is capable of becoming a CM, including Dalits, Muslims, Christians," he said.
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Delhi elections: Items worth over Rs 21 crore seized within week of MCC coming into force
New Delhi (PTI): The office of the Delhi chief electoral officer (CEO) informed on Monday that in the run-up to the Assembly polls in the capital, cash and other items like liquor, worth more than Rs 21 crore, have been seized by various departments within a week of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) coming into effect.
The MCC was implemented on January 7, immediately after the announcement of the poll schedule. Voting for Delhi's 70 Assembly constituencies is scheduled to take place on February 5, with the results set to be declared on February 8.
The MCC is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission (EC) to ensure free and fair polls. It regulates the conduct of the political parties and candidates, covering areas such as meetings, processions, election manifestoes, polling and general behaviour during the electoral process.
According to data provided by the Delhi CEO's office, the highest value of seized items was reported in East Delhi, amounting to Rs 6.83 crore. South Delhi followed closely with Rs 6.81 crore, while the New Delhi area recorded the lowest seizures worth Rs 3.9 lakh.
In all, items worth Rs 21.89 crore have been confiscated across the capital. This includes Rs 9.8 crore in cash, precious metals worth Rs 6.1 crore, drugs worth Rs 5.05 crore, freebies worth more than Rs 47 lakh and liquor worth over Rs 45 lakh.
Earlier in the day, during an interaction with the media, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Alice Vaz said preparations for the Assembly polls are progressing smoothly.
Training programmes for the polling personnel have begun and critical data related to nominations, permissions and enforcement activities are being monitored daily, she added.
The CEO emphasised the importance of mapping the vulnerable and critical polling stations to ensure smooth voting.
"We will follow all the instructions of the Election Commission of India for the mapping of the vulnerable polling stations," she said.
Police deployments and security arrangements for the elections are yet to be finalised, Vaz noted.
