Bengaluru(PTI): Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Wednesday urged the party leadership to field only candidates with corruption-free image in the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka to help project an "alternative" to the BJP in the State.

The former Chief Minister claimed that his party's prospects in the polls are "very bright" and alleged that Ministers in the Basavaraj Bommai Cabinet and ruling party MLAs were facing "anti-incumbency".

The Congress has in recent months stepped up its attack on the government on corruption issues, which are also likely to be its dominant campaign themes for the election, due by May.

"...good people with image...with corruption-free image should be selected because this is the alternative we can show", Moily told PTI here.

"Candidates with corruption-free image will definitely project what we intend to do in future", the former Union Minister added.

He said the fact that the Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge hails from the State, is a "big status" for the party and its leadership as it faces elections.

Moily said the poll promises of the Congress to provide 200 units of free power a month to each household, and Rs 2000 to every woman head of households would give electoral dividends for the party.

He also targeted the JD (S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

"Whenever they came to power, they failed in governance. Corruption also increased during their regime. JD(S) has become fully marginalised", Moily claimed.



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Thane (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for repeatedly targeting him and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and claimed that he is eager to reclaim the PM's post instead of paving the way for the next generation.

Addressing an election rally in Thane to canvass for incumbent MP and his party candidate Rajan Vichare on Thursday, Thackeray called the contest a clash between loyalty and betrayal.

The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has nominated Naresh Mhaske for the Thane Lok Sabha constituency, which along with 12 other seats, including six in Mumbai, will vote in the fifth phase on May 20.

The contest in Thane is a prestige battle for Shinde, an influential leader from the region who split the original Shiv Sena in 2022 and aligned with the BJP.

However, Thackeray mainly focussed on Modi and his policies. He accused Modi of stirring controversies through his rhetoric and claimed that the BJP is shifting its narratives, from pledges of securing a majority to allegations of dynasty politics.

The Sena (UBT) hit out at Modi for repeatedly targeting him and Sharad Pawar. In his recent speeches, Modi had called Thackeray's party "nakli Sena" and described Pawar as a "bhatakti aatma" (wandering soul).

Modi is eager to get back the PM's post instead of paving the way for the next generation, he claimed.

Thackeray defended the coalition model, citing its past successes and contrasting them with the perceived stagnation under single-party rule.

Thackeray said Shiv Sena and Thane share a unique bond as the city gave the party a foothold in its early days, he added.