Rajarajeshwari Nagar heads to polls today
Bengaluru: Congress, BJP and JDS triangular contest in the Rajarajeshwari city polls in the wake of the political calculations that have changed in the state.
Polling began on a peaceful note in Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency in the city on Monday where Congress, JD(S) and BJP locked in a triangular battle.
The chief electoral officer (CEO) of Karnataka had postponed the elections in this constituency after raids by the department led to the unearthing of around 10,000 Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) cards and thousands of form 6 documents were recovered from a private apartment in the locality a few days before the 12 May Karnataka assembly polls.
The constituency is witnessing a ‘friendly fight’ between the new alliance partners the Congress and JD(S), as talks between the allies over seat sharing in the segment failed.
However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has declared a holiday on Monday in the constituency to ensure all 4,71,459 voters exercise their franchise. Fourteen candidates, including four independents, are in the fray.
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Cong 'pocketed' Rs 150 cr per annum from Assam healthcare budget during 15 yrs of rule: Shah
Guwahati (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that the Congress, during its previous 15 years of rule in Assam, "pocketed" Rs 150 crore per annum from the state healthcare budget.
Inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for healthcare projects worth Rs 2,092 crore in Assam, Shah said the BJP works for affordable healthcare for all sections of society and lauded Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for bringing the state's medical facilities at par with states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
"Assam's healthcare was in shambles 10 years ago as Congress worked only for the financial health of its leaders' families," he said.
Attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said that no Indian supports his acts of "defaming" the country in his bid to oppose the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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He lambasted the Congress for its "shirtless" protest at the recent AI summit in New Delhi and Gandhi for having 'chai-pakora' on the stairs of Parliament House.
"We were also in the opposition and staged protests against the government, but there is a right platform for it," he said.
"Parliament is a sacred seat of democracy. Its stairs should not be used for even dharnas. And Rahul Gandhi was having 'chai-pakora' there. Doesn't he know where to have his breakfast?" asked the Union minister.
Shah inaugurated the Rs 675-crore Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital in Guwahati, at a programme held on its premises.
He also virtually inaugurated two cancer centres at Golaghat and Tinsukia, both under Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), constructed at a cost of Rs 135 crore each.
Shah virtually laid the foundation stone for super-speciality hospitals at Diphu Medical College and Hospital (Rs 220 crore), Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (Rs 310 crore), and Barpeta Medical College and Hospital (Rs 284 crore).
The foundation stone for a Rs 218-crore Swasthya Bhawan in Guwahati, and the Abhayapuri District Hospital (Rs 115 crore) were also laid by the Union home minister.
Shah arrived here on Saturday evening on a two-day visit to Assam, his fourth visit to the northeastern state in four months.
