Real contest in Kanakapura for first time, says BJP candidate Ashoka
Minister takes on Shivakumar in Congress leader's home turf
Shivanahalli (KTK) (PTI): Senior BJP leader and Karnataka Minister R Ashoka, who is pitted against state Congress president D K Shivakumar in the latter's home bastion of Kanakapura for the May 10 Assembly polls, said his candidacy has resulted in an election contest, in its true sense, taking place for the first time in the region after nearly two decades.
In an interview to PTI, Ashoka, who was campaigning in this village that comes under Kanakapura Assembly segment, said he feels he is a "trigger" for public anger against the rule that existed in the region for long to come out in the open.
In a surprise move, the BJP has taken the battle to the opposition camp by fielding Ashoka, who is considered to be the Vokkaliga face of the party, against Congress' Vokkaliga strongman Shivakumar in his home turf, which is the community's stronghold.
Ashoka said he is in the fray from Kanakapura on the directions of the party, and his task was to win the seat, along with building the party in the constituency, where it has virtually no presence.
Excerpts from the interview:
Question: You appeared to be hesitant to contest from Kanakapura. Why was it so?
Answer: Not at all. I was not contacted in advance, to discuss whether I'm interested or not. Directly, I got a call. I was told that the party has decided and I should go and contest (from Kanakapura). Whether me or V Somanna (fellow minister who is contesting against Siddaramaiah in Varuna constituency). We did not take a minute to accept the party's decision. We said we were ready.
Q. Are you contesting because it is a party decision or are you really interested in standing here?
A. As a leader, I'm contesting. I should be prepared for such challenges or else I would have been limited only to Bengaluru. By contesting from other seats, my charisma also will increase. Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi (who quit BJP and joined Congress) were not given one seat despite requests. I'm given two seats (Padmanabhanagar also). I'm happy about the respect given to me. I'm given the ticket considering that I will give strength to the party and its workers here.
Q. Does BJP, as an organisation, have a presence in Kanakapura?
A. No. In the 2013 election, we secured only about 1,600-odd votes. In the previous election (2018), it was about 6,000 votes. I have to make "treasure out of trash". That's the challenge.
Q. Are you contesting from Kanakapura to win or to give a fight?
A. To win....first fight and then win. Earlier, when a BJP candidate used to file his nomination, only 10 people used to go along with him. This time, I had 5,000 people with me. Our national leaders like General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka (Arun Singh) had come. I have been sent here to win along with building the party.
Q. What is giving you the confidence in the constituency?
A. People have given me unprecedented response and support so far. What is important is that this is the first time in about 20 years, an election (contest) is actually taking place in Kanakapura, people are happy about it. They are confident and happy that there won't be any poll-related bogus or 'dadagiri' (intimidation) during the election. People are happy that they can vote freely. There is Narendra Modi government at the Centre, BJP government in the state, and 'goondagiri' (hooliganism) won't be allowed this time here.
My first priority is to assure people about free and fair elections. I'm the trigger for the people to vent out the anger they had bottled up in them for nearly 20 years, through votes.
Q. What are the main issues people are facing in Kanakapura?
A. People here feel that they don't have much freedom because of the local system that exists here. Freedom is their first priority. Then comes roads. All major connecting roads to Bengaluru have been completed, but only Kanakapura road has not been completed for the last 20 years. Also, there is not much development here, despite him (D K Shivakumar) being a powerful minister in the past.
Q. With Shivakumar projecting himself as the Chief Ministerial aspirant in case Congress comes to power, won't Vokkaliga votes consolidate in his favour?
A. If that is the case, Kurubas and other backward communities, also SC/STs should turn against you (Shivakumar), as they too are in good numbers here.
Q. What is the winning margin you are looking at?
A. For me, margin is not important now. Winning is important. If I win by one vote also it's a win, by 10,000 votes also is a win. There is "short time, make it sweet". You may not be confident about my victory this time, it's natural, but don't forget that Deve Gowda lost the election after becoming PM. Didn't (former PM) Indira Gandhi lose against Raj Narain, didn't (former CMs) B S Yediyurappa and Siddaramaiah lose? Rahul Gandhi lost in his family's traditional constituency Amethi to Smriti Irani, who was an outsider. If you touch the hearts of the people, they don't care about anyone else.
Q. Where does the BJP stand in Karnataka, with less than a week to go for polls?
A. In the last one-and-half months, things have drastically improved for BJP stage by stage. After PM Modi's campaigning and rallies began, it has boosted (the prospects). Also, Congress' mistakes have increased. The Bajrang Dal issue is being taken up seriously.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
