Former Dy.CM Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan inaugurates party’s Election Office in Mysuru

Mysore/Mysuru: Now, with BJP party cadres actively publicising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievements aligning with ‘Viksit Bharat’ over the last 10 years, the Mysuru-Kodagu unit of the party has sounded the poll bugle with the inauguration of an Election Office at the BJP Headquarters ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in April-May this year.

The office was inaugurated this morning by former Dy.CM Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan in the presence of MP Pratap Simha who will be running for a third term, BJP Cluster Convenor and former MLA S.A. Ramdas, former MLA Appachu Ranjan, former Minister C.H. Vijayshankar, BJP State Vice-President M. Rajendra, City President L. Nagendra, District President L.R. Mahadevaswamy and others.

Speaking to the media later, Dr. Ashwathnarayan highlighted the significant improvements witnessed in Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha Constituency over the past decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, drawing parallels to the era of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar.

He emphasised Mysuru’s global recognition and PM Modi’s plans for its further enhancement. Dr. Ashwathnarayan affirmed the party’s commitment to seeking votes based on their achievements over the past decade and proposed development plans for the next five years, aligning with the concept of ‘Viksit Bharat.’

Responding to reports regarding BJP leaders Basavaraj Patil Yatnal and Ramesh Jharkiholi’s criticisms of the party leadership, Dr. Ashwathnarayan expressed confidence in resolving internal differences within the party, noting their shared desire for Narendra Modi’s re-election as the Prime Minister.

Dr. Ashwathnarayan criticised the Congress, alleging misappropriation of taxpayer funds and engaging in appeasement politics, predicting that party’s downfall due to internal discord.

When questioned about fielding Kupendra Reddy as the fifth candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha Polls despite lacking sufficient votes, Ashwathnarayan urged patience until the results were announced.

Regarding Pratap Simha’s candidacy, he praised the MP’s exemplary performance over the past decade and said that the decision on his contest for the third time will be taken by the BJP Parliamentary Board.

BJP Cluster Convenor Ramdas highlighted that the newly inaugurated Election Office serves not only Mysuru and Kodagu but also the Cluster Offices for Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Hassan Lok Sabha Constituencies.

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With none from JD(S) first family to contest from Mandya

Bengaluru: While independent Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambarish has been making rounds to Delhi and meeting top BJP national leaders, expressing her intent to contest on a BJP ticket from Mandya, former PM and JD(S) Supremo H.D. Deve Gowda held a meeting with the party’s top brass to discuss the possible candidate.

It is a known fact that JD(S), having a strong base in Mandya, will want to field its candidate from Mandya. The party, which has officially joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has demanded the Mandya seat as part of its seat-sharing pact for the upcoming polls.

However, the final decision on seat sharing is yet to be made official. Meanwhile, former PM H.D. Deve Gowda has indirectly sent a message to the BJP High Command about his party’s intent to contest from Mandya Lok Sabha Constituency.

The meeting, held in Bengaluru yesterday, was attended by JD(S) Core Committee President and Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Devegowda, JD(S) Youth Wing President Nikhil Kumaraswamy, former Ministers C.S. Puttaraju, D.C. Thammanna, MLA H.T. Manjunath, former MLA Ravindra Srikanthaiah, Suresh Gowda, and Dr. Annadani, former MLC K.T. Srikantegowda and Mandya District JD(S) President Ramesh.

Deve Gowda also collected vital information from the local leaders during which former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK), who has been touring the Mandya district, also shared some information. The leaders, who have been insisting on fielding a candidate from the Deve Gowda family, especially Nikhil Kumaraswamy or H.D. Kumaraswamy, expressed confidence about the party candidate’s victory.

However, sources said that if none from the Deve Gowda family were interested in contesting, former Minister C.S. Puttaraju, who had earlier represented the Mandya seat between 2014 and 2018, would be an ideal candidate.

The JD(S) patriarch seems to have also instructed the leaders to ensure the previous Lok Sabha election result was not repeated when the JD(S) candidate was defeated despite having an election pact with the Congress party.

Nikhil not to contest, HDK reluctant

Nikhil has already expressed his desire not to contest and former CM Kumaraswamy has also told the media persons about his disinterest in going to Delhi.

With both leaders not interested in contesting, it is almost certain that Puttaraju would be the party’s candidate.

Later, speaking to the media persons, H.D. Deve Gowda said: “Nikhil will not contest since he will be touring the State for the election campaign and Kumaraswamy will decide on his contesting. Meanwhile, none from the family will be contesting from Mandya. However, the candidate will be announced in the next meeting,” he said.

‘Star’ Chandru to contest on Congress ticket?

Meanwhile, the Congress party seems to have finalised the candidature of industrialist ‘Star’ Chandru (Venkataramane Gowda) from Mandya at a meeting headed by Agriculture and Mandya District in-Charge Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy at a private hotel yesterday. Chandru, a native of Nagamangala, is the brother of Gowribidanur Independent MLA Puttaswamy Gowda and a relative of Chikkaballapur MP B.N. Bacchegowda.

MLAs Ravikumar (Ganiga), P.M. Narendraswamy, Darshan Puttannaiah, Kadalur M. Uday, Ramesh Babu Bandisiddegowda, K. Harishgowda, MLCs Dinesh Gooligowda, Madhu G. Madegowda and others  were present.

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Krishnaraja MLA T.S. Srivatsa, spearheading the ‘Booth Chalo’ initiative, aimed at disseminating the programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past five years, is seen visiting households and distributing handbills outlining the schemes and initiatives of the PM to residents. The MLA inaugurated the ‘Booth Chalo’ programme across all 266 booths within his Constituency, which commenced on Feb. 8 and concluded on Feb. 10.

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Mandya: Amidst the uncertainty over getting BJP ticket for the Mandya Lok Sabha seat after the party entered into an alliance with the JD(S), Mandya independent MP Sumalatha Ambarish met National BJP President J.P. Nadda and the party’s National General Secretary B.L. Santosh in New Delhi on Thursday, which has led to speculation.

With the Mandya LS seat likely to go the JD(S), a worried Sumalatha met the BJP top brass to lay her claims for the seat, which she won as an independent candidate in 2019 against Nikhil Kumaraswamy of the JD(S). During the meeting, Sumalatha is said to have pressed the BJP leadership to keep the seat for the party itself and give her the party ticket to contest the forthcoming LS polls.

Meanwhile, the ruling Congress in the State too is said to be not too much interested about Sumalatha. A few Congress leaders have openly said that the party has a good number of candidates for the Mandya seat and Sumalatha may not stand a chance to get the party ticket. In this backdrop, the independent MP is said to have met the BJP top brass in order to cement her candidature from Mandya LS seat.

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One of the most respected statesmen, his contribution to India’s development is monumental, says Prime Minister Modi

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani will be conferred with the prestigious Bharat Ratna, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this morning, calling the party stalwart’s contributions to the development of India ‘monumental’.

The Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, is conferred in recognition of “exceptional service/ performance of the highest order.” Instituted in 1954, the list of awardees includes Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Vajpayee among others.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Prime Minister wrote, “I am very happy to share that Shri L.K. Advani Ji will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. I also spoke to him and congratulated him on being conferred this honour.”

“One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental. His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister,” PM Modi said.

Advani has labelled himself the ‘charioteer’ who steered the ‘rath yatra’ that began in Gujarat’s Somnath on Sept. 25, 1990 and culminated with the demolition of the Babri Masjid on Dec. 6, 1992. He returned to Ayodhya on Jan. 22 this year to see PM Modi, then his aide, leading the Ram Temple consecration ceremony.

An emotional moment: PM Narendra Modi

The Prime Minister further praised the veteran leader and said, he distinguished himself as India’s Home Minister and I&B Minister. “His Parliamentary interventions have always been exemplary, full of rich insights.”

He said, Advani’s decades-long service in public life has been marked by an unwavering commitment to transparency and integrity, setting an exemplary standard in political ethics.

“He has made unparalleled efforts towards furthering national unity and cultural resurgence. The conferring of the Bharat Ratna on him is a very emotional moment for me. I will always consider it my privilege that I got countless opportunities to interact with him and learn from him,” the Prime Minister said.

Born in Karachi, in present-day Pakistan, on Nov. 8, 1927, Advani through the years had served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the longest period since its  inception in 1980.

Capping a Parliamentary career of nearly three decades, he was, first, the Home Minister and, later, the Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1999-2004).

Advani is widely regarded as an individual of great intellectual ability, strong principles and unwavering support for the idea of a strong and prosperous India. As confirmed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advani has ‘never compromised on his core belief in nationalism and yet has displayed flexibility in political responses whenever it was demanded by the situation.’

Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur

Last week, the Narendra Modi Government conferred Bharat Ratna (posthumous) on socialist icon Karpoori Thakur who, as CM of Bihar, was the first to implement an OBC quota with a sub-quota for MBCs in the north in 1978.

Thakur’s 26 percent package, that also had quotas for women and economically weaker sections and which provoked violent protests, was implemented a year before the Constitution of the Mandal Commission.

Belonging to the extremely backward Nai (barber) caste, ‘Jan Nayak’ Thakur was born into a poor family in north Bihar’s Samastipur district. He fought off the odds and obscene social prejudices to become an agent of change in the State which was synonymous with upper caste hegemony.

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New Delhi: In a major jolt to I.N.D.I.A alliance ahead of forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, Janata Dal (United) stalwart Nitish Kumar resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar this morning.

Shortly after submitting his resignation to Governor Rajendra Arlekar at Patna in Bihar, Nitish Kumar also staked claim to form the new State Government in alliance with BJP.

Nitish and his two deputies from BJP — Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha — are likely to take oath this evening, it is said.

He has also submitted BJP’s letter of support of 78 MLAs in 243-member Bihar Assembly. While JD(U) has 45 MLAs, four MLAs of (HAM) and one independent are also a part of the new alliance.

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Former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar, who quit BJP nine months back to join Congress, rejoins BJP

New Delhi: Barely a couple of hours after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confidently stated in Mysuru during a press conference that former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had no intentions of leaving the Congress, Shettar surprised everyone by rejoining his original party, the BJP, at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi later this afternoon. This unexpected move has sent shock waves through the ruling Congress in Karnataka.

The Lingayat leader had left the BJP ahead of the Karnataka Assembly Elections in May 2023 as he was denied a ticket. This afternoon, he reached the BJP headquarters where he was welcomed back to the party by BJP National President J.P. Nadda in the presence of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav and State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra. 

“BJP gave me a lot of responsibilities and top posts in the past. Because of some issues, I went to the Congress party. In the last 8-9 months, there were a lot of discussions in the BJP. Karnataka BJP leaders and workers asked me to come back to the BJP. Yediyurappa ji and Vijayendra ji also wanted me to come back to the BJP. I am rejoining the party with the belief that Narendra Modi ji has to become the PM again,” Shettar said.

Stating that PM Modi is doing an excellent job for taking the country to much greater heights in the global scenario, he said that he was returning to the party without any demands to work under the unmatched leadership of Modi. He further said that there was a lot of pressure from his fans and followers to rejoin the BJP. 

Jagadish Shettar, the six-term MLA (former) from Hubballi-Dharwad Central, left the BJP as he was denied a ticket from the party. Later he joined the Congress, and contested from the same constituency where he lost by a huge margin to BJP’s Mahesh Tenginkai. Shettar was  thereafter made an MLC by the Congress.

When Shettar left the BJP in April 2023, he said he was humiliated by the senior leaders of the BJP and that his decision to quit the saffron party was final.

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Mysore/Mysuru: Maintaining that the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya will not politically benefit BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha (LS) polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the issue in fact, will boomerang on that party.

Addressing a press meet at his residence in T.K. Layout here this morning, Siddaramaiah contended that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an incomplete Ram Mandir to gain a political mileage in LS polls. But it will instead bommerang on the BJP’s political game plans, as the people of the country are closely watching the developments concerning Ram Mandir. He pointed  out that, the people of the country will cast their ballots in keeping with the aspirations of the Constitution as they have accepted it.

Caste census: Replying to a question on caste census, the CM said “I do not know much about the census report. The Jayaprakash Hegde headed Backward Classes Commission has not sought time from the Government for submitting its report. However,  the Government will give time if sought and will later accept it. No one has read the report and as such nobody can speak about it. It is wrong  to say the report is unscientific without going through it.”

Referring to reports that former CM Jagadish Shettar may return to BJP, Siddaramaiah said Shettar himself has time and again clarified that he will not return to BJP which insulted him. Shettar would not go to the BJP again despite all the efforts by that party to woo him back to its fold, the CM asserted.

One Nation, One Poll: Commenting on the ongoing ‘One Nation, One Poll’ debate, the CM said we have to  see whether the idea is practical in the first place. Pointing out that, it is important to see whether the idea is within the limits of the Constitution, he said that protecting  and following the Constitution is the need of the hour. Observing that efforts are being made to belittle the Constitution, he said the youths of the country are watching all the developments.

Rahul’s Yatra: Referring to filing of First Information Report (FIR) against Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi in Assam, Siddaramaiah said that the BJP Government in Assam is making all efforts to scuttle Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Stating that he strongly condemns the Assam Government’s action, he said that the Government has resorted to undemocratic means to scuttle the Yatra as it fears the huge popularity the Yatra is gaining in that State.

Boards and Corporations: Responding to appointment to Boards and Corporations, the CM merely said that the list will be released only after the party High Command gives its nod.

Constitution Day: The CM further said that, marking the 75th anniversary of the Constitution Day, a Constitution awareness Jatha will be taken out in the State from Jan. 26 to Feb. 23, Constitution Workshop and Expo on Feb. 24 and 25 (morning) and Constitution mega convention in Bengaluru on Feb. 25 evening.

District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, Animal Husbandry Minister K. Venkatesh, MLAs Tanveer Sait, K. Harishgowda and D. Ravishankar, former MLAs H.P. Manjunath and M.K. Somashekar, former MP Kagalawadi M. Shivanna and former ZP President K. Marigowda were present.

CM holds one-to-one meeting with Congress MLAs from Mysuru and Chamarajanagar

In an interesting development, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah soon after concluding his press meet, held an unscheduled  one-to-one meeting with his party MLAs from Mysuru and Chamarajanagar Districts. The meeting assumes significance in the wake of selection of Congress candidates for Mysuru-Kodagu and Chamarajanagar (SC Reserve) Constituencies for the forthcoming LS polls and also concerning reports that the BJP may carry out  ‘Operation Lotus’ to poach the ruling party MLAs after the LS polls in a bid to topple Congress Government.

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Mysore/Mysuru: State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra predicted that unprecedented victory awaits the party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in the State which would be etched in golden letters and nobody can stop this from happening, with the State political scenario also set to witness a change that nobody would have even imagined.

Addressing the party workers during his visit to City BJP office at Chamarajapuram on Saturday, Vijayendra, who received felicitations from both city and district units of the party, said: “The people of the country are watching Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The weather of change is blowing in the State with the creation of a conducive environment for the party to emerge victorious in all the 28 Lok Sabha Constituencies in the State. It is definite that the party will register historic win and if our expectations turn true, there will be dramatic changes in State politics and nobody could imagine the after effects.”

In a piece of advice to party leaders, Vijayendra said: “If we want to reach the target, the mental status of the leaders should change. If we think within the block restricting ourselves to a caste or class, the party cannot grow further. The party workers strive like a soldier during Assembly and LS polls.  Likewise, we should seriously consider the elections to Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat and other local bodies, as these elections embolden our workers. With this, the roots of the party will become strong further cementing the success.”

Quoting the words of MLA T.S. Srivatsa, who made a mention of party leaders from old Mysuru region accommodated in the recent nomination of office-bearers to the State unit on priority, Vijayendra said: “If BJP should form the Government in the State with absolute majority, the party should win more seats in old Mysuru region. It is only if the party wins more seats in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Mandya, Kodagu and Hassan regions, BJP can form a Government with clear majority and work towards development of the State.”

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Mysore/Mysuru: Achievers from various fields were felicitated during Kuvempu Jayanti organised at BJP Office at Chamaraja Mohalla in the city yesterday.

Star of Mysore and Mysuru Mithra photographer M.N. Lakshminarayana Yadav, organic farmer Dileep Chikkanna Gowda, ex-serviceman Sridhar, woman pilot Tanushree Gowda, student Meghana and senior BJP worker Balasubramanya were among those felicitated during the birth anniversary of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu.

Delivering a special lecture on the occasion, Dr. D. Prabhu said: “Sarvodaya (progress of all), Samanvaya Poorna Drushti (realistic meaning of welfare) and Vijnana Prajne (Scientific consciousness) propagated by the poet laureate should be applied in the present days. With the sole aim of society’s progress, Kuvempu, who was popular as ‘Jagada Kavi, Yugada Kavi,’ wrote ‘Sri Ramayana Darshanam,’ thus spreading the substance of darshana in the literary tradition.”

In his play ‘Shudra Tapasvi,’ Kuvempu spread the message of willingness as the only tool to bridge the gap between characters representing poor and the elite classes. He also clarified that caste divide won’t come in the way of devotion and spiritualism.

Krishnaraja MLA T.S. Srivatsa presided over the programme.

Former MLC Siddaraju, former MUDA Chairman Yashaswi Somashekar, State BJP Vice-President M. Rajendra, State BJP Minority Morcha President Dr. Anil Thomas, former Chairmen of Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) Hemanth Kumar and Mirle Srinivas Gowda, former Corporator Prashanth Gowda, BJP District President Mangala Somashekar, party leaders Rajkumar, Giridhar, Kumargowda, L. Jagadish, Hema Nandish, Lakshmidevi, Govardhan, Vice-President of BJP Chamaraja Unit Kumar Gowda, Ravi, Girish, Neha and others were present.

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