Will not contest again from Chamundeshwari: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Apr 14: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Sunday said he will not contest again from Chamundeshwari assembly constituency in Mysuru, where he had tasted defeat during the May 2018 assembly polls.
"I appeal to you with folded hands...I will not contest from this constituency once again, I'm making it clear. You all should work together for the development of this constituency," he said.
Speaking at the joint election campaign in Jayapura of Chamundeshwari assembly segment in Mysore, he said "this constituency should develop. I have won here five times; this constituency gave me political birth."
Siddaramaiah, the then sitting Chief Minister, had lost the 2018 assembly polls in Chamundeshwari to JD(S) G T Deve Gowda by a margin of over 36,042 votes.
He however won Badami, the other constituency in North Karnataka from where he had contested.
Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah got elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket,
He has won five times from this constituency and thrice tasted defeat.
In 2006, he won the Chamundeshwari bypoll on a Congress ticket by a wafer thin margin of 257 votes against JD(S) candidate in one of the bitterest poll battles in the state.
The results then were crucial for Siddaramaiah to score political points over his bete noire JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, after being expelled from the party.
After neighboring Varuna became a constituency in 2008 following delimitation, Siddaramaiah represented it till he vacated the seat for his son Dr Yathindra in the assembly polls last year and went back to his old constituency of Chamundeshwari.
Interestingly Siddaramaiah Sunday shared the stage after a long gap with old time friend turned rival G T Deve Gowda, who defeated him in the assembly polls, to campaign for coalition candidate C H Vijayashankar of Congress for the April 18 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress and JD(S) joined hands to form the government after the December 7 2018 assembly polls after the election threw up a hung verdict and decided to face the Lok Sabha polls together.
According to the seat sharing arrangement, Congress is contesting in 21 seats and JD(S) in seven.
Congress managed to secure Mysore Lok Sabha seat as Siddaramaiah was adamant about not ceding it to JD(S), which was also demanding the constituency, under G T Deve Gowda's leadership.
The former Chief Minister appealed to both Congress and JD(S) workers to defeat the BJP in Lok Sabha polls.
Sitting MP Prathap Simha is the BJP candidate from Mysore.
Siddaramaiah had earlier indicated that 2018 would be his last election.
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Adani Group emerges lowest bidder for Bengaluru’s 16.75-km tunnel road project
Bengaluru: The Adani Group has become the lowest bidder for both packages of the proposed 16.75-km tunnel road project in Bengaluru, according to sources familiar with the bids opened by Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE).
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Monday, the government estimated the entire project to cost Rs 17,698 crore, while the Adani Group has quoted Rs 22,267 crore. The ports-to-power conglomerate’s bid is about 24% higher for the first package and 28% higher for the second than the government’s estimates, a gap that could prompt authorities to seek the state Cabinet’s approval on the tenders’ fate.
M Maheshwar Rao, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), who is also the Managing Director of B-SMILE, declined to comment.
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In all, four infrastructure companies had participated in the tenders for the project, which has been proposed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, with 40% funding from the government and the remaining investment to be raised by the private concessionaire.
During the technical evaluation, the Adani Group and the Hyderabad-based Vishwa Samudra Engineering Ltd qualified for the financial round.
According to the report, Dilip Buildcon was disqualified due to a clause that bars firms linked to collapsed bridges or tunnels, while Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) was rejected because its joint venture (JV) partner did not meet technical requirements.
With only two companies left in the fray, the Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder, ahead of Vishwa Samudra.
The tunnel project officially named the North–South underground corridor, is part of the Congress government’s ambitious to ease Bengaluru’s traffic congestion by building two major underground roads (totalling 40 km) along with 13 flyovers and elevated corridors.
The project is the brainchild of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru development minister.
The proposal, however, has faced criticism and political opposition, especially from senior BJP leaders, who object to the alignment that requires acquiring six acres of Lalbagh Botanical Garden, a historic green space.
As per the report, Urban mobility experts have also warned that the tunnel corridor may clash with the alignment of Namma Metro’s Phase 3A, possibly affecting the metro expansion.
