Stage is all set for the second phase of Polling tomorrow in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Apr 22: After a rancorous campaign for about a month, the remaining 14 out of total 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka will go to polls in the second and final phase Tuesday, with the battle lines clearly delineated for a bipolar contest between the ruling Congress-JD(S) and the BJP.
The constituencies that are going to polls in the second phase are mostly in the northern belt of the state, covering the entire Hyderabad-Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka regions, a couple of central districts and coastal Uttara Kannada.
BJP that has considerable presence in the region aims to improve its tally banking on the "Modi wave" and the support of dominant Lingayat community, considered as it's vote base.
For ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance, it is a high stake battle as their performance in this poll is likely to have its bearing on the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy in the state.
Realising the crucial vote of Karnataka in the wake of perceived challenges in northern state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and several union ministers have campaigned rigorously in the state.
On the other hand, the Congress leaders have banked on the frequent rallies of their party chief Rahul Gandhi.
BJP targeted the Congress-JDS combine on the dissidence within by calling it a "turbulent government".
The ruling Congress-JD(S) however hopes to cash in on alleged anti-incumbency against sitting BJP MPs and policies of the Modi government.
Of the 14 constituencies that will go to polls in the second phase on April 23, BJP is contesting in all the seats while Congress and JD(S), who have an alliance, have fielded their candidates in 12 and 2 constituencies respectively as per the seat sharing arrangement.
Congress currently has its hold on only 4 out of 14 seats Chikkodi, Gulbarga, Bellary, Raichur while the BJP has its sitting MPs in 10 seats.
Polling will take place in 28,022 polling stations of which 5,674 have been designated 'critical' by police.
A total of 2,03,591 polling personnel, including 1,43,580 poll officials, 34,548 police personnel, 5,407 transport personnel and 20,056 other personnel, will be on duty.
As many as 2,43,03,279 voters are eligible to choose their choice from among 237 candidates in the fray during the second phase.
Among the 237 candidates, 227 are men and 10 women.
Belgaum with 57 has the maximum number of candidates, while Raichur with five has the lowest in the second as well as the first phase.
Out of the total 2,43,03,279 voters in the 14 seats, 1,22,55,590 are men, 1,20,45,667 women and 2,022 others.
Voting will take place between 7 am and 6 pm on Tuesday, in 14 constituencies, where holiday has been declared under Negotiable Instruments Act.
Among prominent contestants in the second phase include Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge (Gulbarga) Union Ministers Ananth Kumar Hegde (Uttara Kannada) and Ramesh Jigajinagi (Bijapur).
Besides, state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra is pitted against another former chief minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa of JD(S) from Shimoga while Pradesh Congress Working President Eshwar Khandre is seeking election from Bidar.
A key constituency is Gulbarga, where leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, a nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member who has never tasted electoral defeat.
He is said to be facing a tough battle against BJP's Umesh Jadhav, who recently joined the party quitting as Congress MLA.
Jadhav was among the four MLAs against whom Congress had moved the Assembly speaker for disqualification under anti-defection law.
Following Jadhav's resignation as MLA, the grand old party had petitioned the speaker not to accept his resignation as disqualification was pending against him.
However, Speaker after hearing both sides accepted his resignation as MLA.
Spotlight is also on Shimoga, where the battle is between sons of two former chief ministers.
Interestingly Yeddyurappa's son and sitting MP Raghavendra had defeated Bangarappa's son and former MLA Madhu during by-polls held in November last year.
Contest in Belgaum is something to be watched out as Congress there is grappling with dissidence, with senior leader and party's rebel MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi allegedly asking his supporters to favour BJP in the polls.
Jarkiholi, against whom disqualification petition moved by the party is pending before the speaker, did not even attend Congress president Rahul Gandhi's rally recently.
With Lingayat votes said to be a key in this poll, as the community has considerable presence in most of the constituencies, BJP is seen to be trying to further consolidate the community's votes in it favour.
It has been accusing Congress of trying to divide the community for political gains, pointing at the ruling party's support for demand to accord religious minority status to Lingayats.
The previous Congress government's decision to recommend the status to Lingayat community is said to be one of the reasons for the party's debacle in May 2018 assembly polls.
The 14 constituencies in southern part of the state covering old Mysuru region and couple of coastal districts had gone to the polls on April 18, recording an overall voter turnout of 68.81 per cent.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls out of total 28 seats in the state, the BJP had won in 17, Congress 9 and JD(S) in two seats.
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
