New Delhi: With counting days left for Karnataka assembly polls, powerful Lingayat sect group Veershaiva Lingayat Forum is in the BJP with support for the Congress. The forum has written an open letter appealing to the voters of the Lingayat community to vote for the Congress candidates in the Karnataka assembly elections to be held on May 10.

The Lingayat community is considered the BJP's traditional vote bank. By working continuously since 1980s, B. S. Yeddyurappa has swayed the Lingayat community to the BJP. BJP B.S. The Lingayat community is angry with the BJP for denying another former Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar a ticket from their stronghold Hubli after Yeddyurappa's removal as chief minister.

The appeal came out after Congress leaders Shamanur Sivashankarappa and Jagdish Shettar met the people of the Lingayat community in Hubli. The Lingayat community is the most powerful community in Karnataka. The Lingayat community, which accounts for 17 percent of the electorate in Karnataka, has given nine chief ministers in the state.

The campaign to install Khadge as Chief Minister has started

It is not decided whether the Congress government will be formed in Karnataka, where the race for the post of Chief Minister has started. If the Congress wins, the state president D. K. Sivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are seen as strong contenders but now the campaign has started in favor of National President Mallikarjun Kharge.

d. K. A ruckus has started in the Congress as Mallikarjun Kharge's name is being floated by his opponents who want to cut the cards of Shivkumar and Siddaramaiah. Apart from this M.B. Patil's name is also being put forward. On the whole, the situation in the Congress is like buffaloes are running, chass is being thrown and there is a commotion in the house.

Siddaramaiah is close to Rahul Gandhi but Lingayat voters are protesting because of his age of 76 and some of his decisions during the previous government. d. K. Shivkumar is the troublemaker of Congress and has been elected as MLA for 8 consecutive terms. Both of them are the biggest contributors to reseat the Congress so their chances are high. Karnataka will vote on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.

Gehlot's claim: Kailash, Vasundhara is my helper

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claimed that three BJP leaders, including Vasundhara Raje, helped save his government during Sachin Pilot's rebellion. In addition to Vasundhara, Gehlot called Shobharani Kushwaha and Kailash Meghwal as his helpers, causing a stir in the BJP.

Gehlot claims that Kailash Meghwal and Vasundhara have said that Rajasthan does not have a tradition of toppling elected governments through money power. This is why we will not support the conspiracy to overthrow the government.

Gehlot claimed that Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had hatched a conspiracy to topple his government by distributing money and giving crores of rupees to MLAs. I have told the Congress MLAs that whoever took the money should admit that they took the money and give it back to Amit Shah. If any expenses have been incurred, I will get you the money spent from AICC.

2000 crore scam of Congress leader's brother

After Delhi's liquor scam, liquor scam has also come out in Chhattisgarh. ED claims that the Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh was run with the cooperation of political leaders and officers of Chhattisgarh. ED has arrested Anwar Dhebar, the main accused in the scam. Anwar Dhebar's brother is a Congress leader.

Following the complaint of the liquor scam, the ED conducted an investigation in March and took the statements of the people believed to be involved in the alleged scam. ED's investigation claims to have collected evidence of massive corruption and money laundering of Rs 2,000 crore between 2019 and 2022. According to the ED, a syndicate led by accused Anwar Dhebar is working which has the blessings of top politicians and bureaucrats of the state.

Congress leaders say that central agencies will be active as assembly elections are near in the state. Attempts will be made to trap the Congressmen by creating such false cases.

Tikait's advice, sit-in till election

For the past two weeks, wrestlers have been staging a dharna at Delhi's Jantar Mantar demanding the arrest of wrestling federation president Brijbhushan Sharan Sihan. In support of these wrestlers, after the heads of Khap Panchayats supported by Maha Panchayat, now Rakesh Tikait has also entered the fray. Members of Rakesh Tikait's Kisan organization Bharatiya Kisan Union have started langar at Jantar-Mantar. An ultimatum of 15 days has been given for Brijbhushan's arrest.

Rakesh Tikait of the United Kisan Morcha reached the protest site along with supporters and farmer leaders including Darshan Pal, Hanan Mollah. Tikait has advised the wrestlers to prepare to continue their fight till the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly elections to be held by the end of this year and assured all help from his side. Tikait says that to win the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BJP must bring in Brijbhushan. As khap panchayats are with wrestlers, BJP is not going without taking action against Brijbhushan.

BJP MLA in Manipur reached the Supreme Court

The BJP's situation has become dire when a BJP MLA went to the Supreme Court against granting tribal status to the Meitei community in Manipur. BJP itself is in favor of reservation to Meitei community.

BJP MLA Dinganglung Gangmei has filed an application in the Supreme Court against the Manipur High Court's order to grant tribal status to the Meitei community. Violence broke out on April 19 when the High Court ordered the Manipur government to recommend the inclusion of the Meitei community in the ST category.

BJP MLA Dinganglung Gangmei has said that the Meitei community is not tribal and has never been recognized as tribal. It is also not within the jurisdiction of the High Court to issue this order. Only the state government can take a decision in this regard so this order is illegal and should be quashed. The High Court should understand that this is a political issue and the High Court has no role to play in it. This decision of the High Court has increased misunderstanding and tension among the tribals.

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25 percent of Karnataka's seats to a single party since 2008

Following the 2002 delimitation commission report, the boundaries of the constituencies were decided anew, and Karnataka, which was the first state to hold early elections, has had eight leaders as Chief Minister since 2008. However, in the last three elections, the result has remained the same in almost one out of four seats. Among the total 224 seats of the state assembly, the voters of 58 seats, including 25 of the Congress, 23 of the BJP and 10 of the Janata Dal (S), have been allowing votes for the same party in 2008, 2013 and 2018. The Janata Dal(S), in its stronghold of South Karnataka, has retained 10 seats for the last three consecutive elections. All these seats are in the Vokkaliga belt of the old Mysore diocese. On the contrary, Congress has 8 seats while BJP has 4 seats in the same belt. JD(S) Mobhi H.D. Devegowda's son H.D. Revanna, BJP National General Secretary C.T. Ravi and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President D.K. Several MLAs, including Sivakumar, have been winning from their seats in the old Mysore diocese for three consecutive terms.

Supporter of Olympic-winning Punia Bajrang Dal

Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia, one of the three figures at the center of the ongoing agitation against National Wrestling Federation president Brijbhushan Sharansingh's alleged sexual harassment of women athletes, has been embroiled in controversy for supporting the right-wing group Bajrang Dal. "I am Bajrangi, I support Bajrang Dal Jai Shri Ram," Punia said in a post on Instagram. In the post with Hanumanji's photo, people are requested to keep Hanumanji's picture as their WhatsApp status and display the picture. Opponents of the Sangh Parivar, of which the Bajrang Dal is a part, deleted the above post expressing outrage on social media over Punia's support to the Bajrang Dal.

Extorted Ph.D. Degree holder caught

The Special Task Force wing of the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police has nabbed a highly educated crook who was impersonating a vigilance officer, especially to dupe engineers and contractors of the construction department. This Thagbhagat is a doctorate from Sambalpur University with MSc in Chemistry. He was caught by the Special Task Force when he was posing as the Superintendent of Vigilance Police to extort one crore rupees from the complainant, the Additional Chief Engineer and others in Krishnaprasad area of ​​Puri district. The crook has confessed to the crime during interrogation.

Illegal places of worship were removed in the anti-coercion campaign

Uttarakhand government has freed 56 hectares of forest land by removing 27 illegal temples and 200 shrines in its special anti-pressure campaign. The work of finding such pressures is still in progress. Pressure has also been exerted by erecting residences and resorts on the forest land, said Chief Forest Conservator of the State Madhukar Dhakate.

Dimple Yadav demands investigation against Brijbhushan

It is not only the BJP that is silent about the allegations of sexual harassment of women athletes against the BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharansingh, who is the president of the Wrestling Federation of India. Central government of BJP and U.P. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who has never failed to target the government on any controversial issue, from the encounter of gangsters, is also keeping calm on the Brijbhushan issue. However, his wife and Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav and his cousin Dharmendra Yadav, who is a former MP, have demanded a fair probe into the Brijbhushan case.

Thorns turned into thorns: Gangsters solve crimes

An official of Delhi Police's Special Cell said that gangster Deepak Pahl alias Boxer (27), arrested from Mexico, has helped the police in solving nearly two dozen serious criminal cases, including 10 cases of murder, as a result of which 14 of his accomplices have been nabbed. Deepak Boksar, who is currently in Tihar Jail, provided guidance to his gang after gangster Jeetendra Mann alias Gogi Thar died in the courtroom of Rohini Court complex on September 24, 2021. The boxer, who reached Mexico on the basis of a fake passport, has been brought back to India on April 5.

Gangster Killed: Tamil Nadu Policeman Suspended

Seven personnel of the Tamil Nadu Special Police who were on duty at the time of the killing of gangster Tillu Tajpuria in Tihar Jail have been suspended and will be sent back to Tamil Nadu as punishment for being silent witnesses to the murder. The above operation has taken place after the Director General of Delhi Prisons Sanjay Beniwal informed the Tamil Nadu Police in writing to take action against its employees.

- Inder Sahni