Prakash Raj filed nomination as an Independent candidate
35 candidates file nominations for LS polls in state on Friday
Bengaluru, Mar 22: JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna, multi-lingual actor Prakash Raj and two sitting BJP MPs P C Mohan and Shobha Karandlaje were among 35 candidates who filed their nominations in Karnataka on Friday for the first phase of LokSabha polls in the state.
A total of 38 nominations have been received from 35 candidates on Friday, poll officials said, adding that cumulative nominations filed so far stands at 83 from 72 candidates.
While Prajwal Revanna filed his nomination from the family turf Hassan, Karandlaje filed her papers from Udupi-Chikmagalur and P C Mohan and Prakash Raj from Bangalore Central.
Marking the entry of the third generation of the Gowda family into electoral politics, Prajwal, son of PWD Minister H D Revanna filed nomination in the presence of his father, uncle and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and mother Bhavani Revanna, a Zilla Panchayat member in Hassan.
Prajwal was on a temple visiting spree ahead of his filing nomination as the Gowda family, especially Minister Revanna,is known for their strong belief in astrology and religious traditions.
After filing his nomination, Prajwal along with Kumaraswamy, addressed a huge gathering of supporters and public in Hassan.
Prajwal, who is the joint candidate of the Congress-JD(S)coalition, will take on BJP's A Manju.
Manju joined BJP on Sunday, unhappy with Congress' decision to cede Hassan seat to its coalition partner JD(S).
Manju was earlier with BJP before joining Congress and becoming a Minister in the previous Siddaramaiah led government and again returning to the saffron party.
Shobha Karandlaje filed her nomination from Udupi-Chikmagalur in the presence of party local leaders, including former Minister Jeevraj.
Despite resentment locally, BJP had announced her ticket on Thursday.
P C Mohan filed his nomination from Bangalore Central in the presence of senior BJP MLAs R Ashok, Suresh Kumar and Arvind Limbavali.
Prakash Raj, known as a staunch critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, will take on Mohan, as an independent candidate from Bangalore Central.
AAP has extended its support to Raj in Bangalore Central.
While BJP has announced its list of 21 candidates, Congress and JD(S) who have entered into a seat sharing of 20 and 8 seats respectively, are yet to finalise their list.
Karnataka will go for the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
While the last date for filing of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls is on March 26, scrutiny will take place on March 27.
The last date for withdrawal is March 29.
For the second phase polls on April 23, notification will be issued on March 28.
The last date for nominations is April 4.
Scrutiny will take place on April 5 and the last day for withdrawal is April 8.
Counting of votes and announcement of results for both phases will be on May 23.
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Congress, Raijor Dal finalise alliance; state party gets 11 seats
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Guwahati (PTI): After days of negotiation and uncertainty, the Congress and Raijor Dal finalised seat-sharing arrangements for the Assam assembly polls, and decided that the national party will leave 11 constituencies for the other one, and there will be a friendly contest in two. In a late-night development on Thursday at Jorhat, leaders of the two parties, headed by state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, signed the agreement.
Akhil Gogoi will contest from Sivasagar, a seat he won in the last polls while still in prison on sedition charges for allegedly instigating violence during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.
The Congress had given the Margherita seat to the Raijor Dal. Earlier, the national party had given it to Prateek Bordoloi, who decided not to contest on a Congress ticket after his father defected to the BJP earlier this week.
The other seats to be contested by Raijor Dal are Dalgaon, Dhing, Sissiborgaon, Digboi, Bokakhat, Manas, Tezpur and Kaliabor, while friendly contests will take place between the two parties in Goalpara (East) and Gauripur.
The party has nominated a woman candidate, Gyanashree Bora, from the Mariani constituency.
The opposition alliance now comprises six parties -- Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and the CPI(ML).
The Congress has announced its complete list of 87 seats, the AJP in 10 seats while the CPI(M) and APHLC will contest in two seats each.
Gaurav Gogoi thanked the Raijor Dal president, his team, and everyone who worked to ensure the alliance took place.
"It is not easy for a party like Congress to give up seats, but the national leadership agreed in the interest of the state and its future," the Congress state chief said.
''After assessing the ground realities and being satisfied with our answers to the queries raised by the high command, it was agreed that the alliance takes place,” he added.
Gaurav Gogoi said that several sections of the society, particularly some renowned civil society leaders, played a prominent role in ensuring the alliance takes place in the interest of the state and its people.
He appealed to all to work for the win of all candidates put up by the alliance's six parties.
"We have many dreams and aims to create a new Assam where the development of all and not just one person and his family, is ensured," Gogoi said.
People of Assam want to be free of Himanta Biswa Sarma's ''low level of politics'' where he uses fear and threats to intimidate people so he can remain in power, he claimed.
The Raijor Dal president said that they decided to contest the elections unitedly to oust the BJP government, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, and make Gaurav Gogoi the chief minister.
''People of Assam are dissatisfied with the BJP-RSS as they have changed the social fabric of the state, and there is a need to overthrow Sarma's undemocratic, corrupt and communal government,'' he said.
Akhil Gogoi urged the Jorhat electorate to vote for the Congress president, stating they have a ''historic opportunity to elect the state's future CM and help build a new Assam.
"Jorhat will get a CM, and the entire state will get a youth leader who has made a mark on the national arena," he said.
Raijor Dal is contesting only 13 seats in the interest of the people and the future of the state to ensure that the BJP is defeated, he said.
Akhil also apologised to those from the party who could not get a ticket.
The elections to the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 9. Votes will be counted on May 4.
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