Will complete term and lead BJP in 2023 Assembly polls: CM Basavaraj Bommai
New Delhi, Oct 8: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai exuded confidence on Friday that he will complete his term and lead the BJP in the 2023 state Assembly polls with the backing of the central leadership and strong party principles.
Admitting that certain lobbies tried to dominate the southern state's politics with money power in the past and are doing so even now, he said the "silver lining" is that the people of Karnataka have overthrown them with their mandate.
While leaders from the Lingayat community have played a key role in building the BJP in Karnataka, a lot of people from other castes like Vokkaliga, SCs, STs and OBCs have also joined the saffron party and are contributing a lot, Bommai said.
Addressing the "India Today Conclave" here, he said he is "most secured" since his childhood when asked if he has any fear of his government being toppled overnight like it happened in the state in the past.
The BJP leader said his father S R Bommai's tenure as the Karnataka chief minister lasted for only nine months as the Janata Party, which he belonged to, did not have a strong leadership at the Centre.
"Now, with my leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah and (BJP chief) J P Nadda, we have not only got a strong central leadership but also strong party principles. I am sure that with all these factors behind me, I will not only complete this term, I will lead Karnataka upfront and bring the BJP back to power," he said.
Stating that the BJP functions in a democratic way, Bommai said, "Our principle is a strong Centre and strong states, and that makes a strong nation. All the timely changes are the need of the hour. It is not a question of any dictatorship."
On a question on the BJP-ruled states turning to Delhi for decision making, he said, "For administration, there is no question of looking at Delhi. But there are certain issues, where you have to consult. Consultation does not mean you look upon Delhi or look down Delhi. Consultation is an ongoing process."
On the trend of frequent shifting of MLAs from one party to another and yet winning elections in the state, Bommai said "changing sides" and parties has been there since the days of veteran Congress leaders S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil.
Even leaders like Ramakrishna Hedge and S R Bommai had to quit and join the BJP, he said, adding, "The course of politics and leadership has guided all these changes."
Bommai further said spending a huge amount of money in elections and the role of lobbies were always there in Karnataka.
"I should admit that there were and there are lobbies in Karnataka politics. Earlier, there was an excise lobby, then came the granite lobby and the education lobby. In between, we had a mining lobby. All these lobbies always try to dominate the state's politics with money power. That has disturbed the right kind of polity in Karnataka. Not only in Karnataka, but in several states," he said.
However, the people of Karnataka "have always overthrown them and brought the government back with people's mandate. That is the silver lining in Karnataka's politics. All the credit should go to the people of Karnataka", he added.
On frequent changes of chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, including B S Yediyurappa, Bommai said, "Change is permanent.... Yediyurappa is such a strong leader. I think only he could have decided his future course of action."
Yediyurappa single-handedly built the BJP in Karnataka, he said, adding, that the veteran leader has fought and won many battles for the saffron party in the southern state.
"He is never tired. However, he chose to pave the way for the next generation. When he was at the helm of affairs and strongly placed, he voluntarily made way for the next generation. That is the culture he brought in and that is the culture of the BJP," Bommai said.
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Sensex falls by 322 pts as Trump imposes reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries; IT shares lead losers
Mumbai, Apr 3 (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed down on Thursday due to selling in IT shares amid a global sell-off as US President Donald Trump unveiled reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries, including India.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 322.08 points or 0.42 per cent to close at 76,295.36. During the session, it plunged 809.89 points or 1.05 per cent to hit an intraday low of 75,807.55 but recovered some of the losses as pharma shares advanced.
The broader NSE Nifty fell 82.25 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 23,250.10. The index declined by 186.55 points or 0.79 per cent to a low of 23,145.80 in early trade but later pared some losses.
President Trump, in a historic measure to counter higher duties on American products imposed globally, announced reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries. The US imposed a 27 per cent tariff on Indian goods while imposing a 10 per cent baseline tax on imports from all countries.
"This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment. April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. We are going to make it wealthy, good, and wealthy," Trump said in his remarks from the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.
IT shares led the losses with TCS falling the most by 3.98 per cent. Tech Mahindra declined by 3.79 per cent, HCL Technologies by 3.71 per cent and Infosys by 3.41 per cent.
"The imposition of very high reciprocal tariffs by the US on its major trading partners, including India, will likely have large negative consequences for global and US GDP growth, global and US inflation, and the profitability of certain sectors and companies in India," Sumit Pokharna, VP-Fundamental Research, Kotak Securities said, adding that a sequential revenue decline for all large Indian IT service companies for the March'25 quarter is expected due to seasonal weakness, lower billing days, and marginal deterioration in demand.
Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel were also among the laggards.
PowerGrid, Sun Pharmaceuticals, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, Asian Paints, Nestle India, Titan, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were among the gainers.
"The Nifty index opened lower in response to the US tariff announcements but saw some recovery due to resilience in select heavyweight stocks. This helped trim losses in early trades, leading to a range-bound session," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
In broader markets, the BSE smallcap gauge rose by 0.76 per cent and the midcap index went up 0.31 per cent.
Market breadth was positive as 2,809 stocks advanced while 1,175 declined and 139 remained unchanged on the BSE.
"The domestic market initially showed signs of recovery but ended with modest losses after the announcement of a relatively lower... tariff on US imports. The IT and auto sectors experienced selling pressure due to US slowdown concerns and disruptions in the supply chain," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said.
Nair further, said pharmaceutical stocks benefited from being exempt from the tariffs. Nonetheless, robust domestic macroeconomic data and lower crude oil prices aided the broader market performance.
Although the tariff presents short-term challenges, India's economic resilience and bilateral trade agreement may help mitigate the overall impact, he added.
According to Choice Wealth' Vice President Nikunj Saraf, the US tariff on Indian exports introduces near-term economic headwinds, affecting key industries like automobiles, textiles, and gems & jewellery.
While India's trade surplus with the US is significant, prolonged tariffs may force us to explore alternative economic partnerships to safeguard growth.
If these duties persist and impact our economy, a strategic shift toward newer markets and domestic resilience will be imperative. The focus now must be on strong trade negotiations and proactive policy measures to mitigate risks, Saraf said.
Among the sectoral indices, Focussed IT plunged the most by 4.13 per cent, IT (3.78 per cent), Teck (2.85 per cent), Auto (1.14 per cent), Metal (0.99 per cent), Oil & Gas (0.59 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (0.24 per cent) and Energy (0.38 per cent).
On the other hand, Utilities, Power, Healthcare, Telecommunication, Consumer Durables, Services, and FMCG were among the gainers.
Despite, market ended in the red territory, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose by Rs 35,170.32 crore to Rs 4,13,33,265.92 (USD 4.83 trillion).
In Asian markets, Tokyo's Nikkei plunged the most by nearly 3 per cent, followed by Hong Kong (1.52 per cent), Seoul's KOSPI (0.76 per cent) and Shanghai (0.24 per cent).
European markets were trading lower in the mid-session deals. Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 3.68 per cent to USD 72.19 a barrel.
Meanwhile, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,538.88 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 2,808.83 crore on a net basis.
On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 592.93 points to settle at 76,617.44, and the NSE Nifty climbed 166.65 points to settle at 23,332.35.
