Police stop Shiv Sena activists from entering Belagavi at Maharashtra border
Belagavi (PTI): Shiv Sena activists on their way towards Belagavi to participate in the 'black day' event by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), on the occasion of Karnataka formation day, were prevented entry by the police at the border between the two states on Wednesday.
They were stopped at Kognoli check post in Nippani taluk on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway here, police said.
According to police, about 30 Shiv Sena activists led by its Kolhapur district President Vijay Devane were stopped at the border from entering Belagavi and handed over to Kolhapur Police.
MES, which has been fighting for the merger of several Marathi-speaking areas and villages of the state with Maharashtra for long, observes 'Karnataka Rajyotsava' day as a black day every year.
The Belagavi administration had on Tuesday banned three Maharashtra ministers and an MP from entering this border district citing maintenance of law and order, as they are expected to participate in the "black day" event, foreseeing the chances of them making provocative speeches during the visit, also Kannada activists could gherao them, and it could result in clashes with MES activists.
Maharashtra Ministers Shambhuraje Desai, Chandrakant Patil, Deepak Kesarkar and MP Dhairyasheel Mane were expected to attend the MES event, official sources said.
MES had recently met Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekanath Shinde at Kolhapur, seeking his support on the boundary issue and requesting that he send representatives to take part in the MES event.
The border issue dates back to 1957 when states were reorganised on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population, and over 800 Marathi-speaking border villages that are currently a part of Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains that the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report is final.
To assert that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka built the 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' there, modelled on the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the State Legislature and Secretariat in Bengaluru.
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Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
জরুরি বার্তা pic.twitter.com/Uc82oihwEL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
