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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New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks alliances in Europe as he deals with Trump
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Montreal, Quebec (AP): New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Paris and London on Monday to seek alliances as he deals with US President Donald Trump's attacks on Canada's sovereignty and economy.
Carney is purposely making his first foreign trip to the capital cities of the two countries that shaped Canada's early existence.
At his swearing-in ceremony on Friday, Carney noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English and Indigenous, and said Canada is fundamentally different from America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”
A senior government government official briefed reporters on the plane before picking up Carney in Montreal and said the purpose of the trip is to double down on partnerships on with Canada's two founding countries. The official said Canada is a “good friend of the United States but we all know what is going on.”
“The Trump factor is the reason for the trip. The Trump factor towers over everything else Carney must deal with,” said Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto.
Carney, a former central banker who turned 60 on Sunday, will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday and later travel to London to sit down with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in an effort to diversify trade and perhaps coordinate a response to Trump's tariffs.
He will also meet with King Charles III, the head of state in Canada. The trip to England is a bit a homecoming, as Carney is a former governor of the Bank of England, the first noncitizen to be named to the role in the bank's 300-plus-year history.
Carney then travels to the edge of Canada's Arctic to “reaffirm Canada's Arctic security and sovereignty” before returning to Ottawa where he's expected to call an election within days.
Carney has said he's ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He said he doesn't plan to visit Washington at the moment but hopes to have a phone call with the president soon.
Sweeping tariffs of 25% and Trump's talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
Carney's government is reviewing the purchase of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets in light of Trump's trade war.
The governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared economic war and repeatedly has said Canada should become the 51st state. Now the party and its new leader could come out on top.
Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, said Carney is wise not to visit Trump.
"There's no point in going to Washington," Bothwell said. "As (former Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau's treatment shows, all that results in is a crude attempt by Trump to humiliate his guests. Nor can you have a rational conversation with someone who simply sits there and repeats disproven lies."
Bothwell said that Trump demands respect, “but it's often a one-way street, asking others to set aside their self-respect to bend to his will.”
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said it is absolutely essential that Canada diversify trade amidst the ongoing trade war with the United States. More than 75% of Canada's exports go to the U.S.
Béland said Arctic sovereignty is also a key issue for Canada.
“President Trump's aggressive talk about both Canada and Greenland and the apparent rapprochement between Russia, a strong Arctic power, and the United States under Trump have increased anxieties about our control over this remote yet highly strategic region,” Béland said.
