Power tussle in Cong reached climax, CM change inevitable: Karnataka BJP chief
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Mar 20 (PTI): Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Friday said that "power tussle and internal bickering" within the ruling Congress in the state have "reached the climax and a chief minister change is inevitable".
He also expressed confidence that the BJP will win both Bagalkot and Davangere South Assembly constituencies in the April 9 by-polls, as he claimed that the Congress government in the state is facing "strong anti-incumbency and public frustration".
"Power tussle, internal bickering (in the Congress) have reached the climax stage. If the by-elections were not announced, things would have reached the final stage, probably immediately after the ongoing Assembly session (scheduled to conclude on March 27). Because of the by-elections, it will probably be postponed for fifteen days," Vijayendra said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Looking at the crisis in the Congress government, a change in the Chief Ministership is inevitable."
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"Recently, when I spoke with some ruling party legislators in the Assembly, they expressed confidence that there would certainly be some results and the CM would resign. But they will have to find the answer to who will become the next CM," he added.
"Poor people are upset, farmers are in crisis, and youth are also unhappy and are against this government. So, I strongly feel that because of the severe anti-incumbency and anti-people policies of Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, I'm one hundred per cent confident that people of both the constituencies will bless BJP with a victory," he added.
The BJP has fielded Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot and Srinivas T Dasakariyappa from Davangere South, following the approval of its Central Election Committee. These bypolls are necessitated following the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
In Bagalkot, Meti (Congress) defeated the BJP's Charantimath by 5,878 votes, and in Davangere South, Shivashankarappa (Congress) defeated the BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
