B S Yediyurappa

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that the party will soon finalise the list of candidates for the State Assembly elections, scheduled to be held on May 10

Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday said his son B Y Vijayendra will contest the May 10 Assembly elections from Shikaripura in this district, which he represented in the Lower House six times. The BJP strongman, who had already announced his retirement from electoral politics, again ruled out the possibility of his son being fielded from Varuna in Mysuru against Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah. Vijayendra, who is a BJP state vice-president, sought the people's blessings to contest from Shikaripura. "There was a pressure on Vijayendra to contest from Varuna constituency but I decided that he should contest from Shikaripura because this was the constituency which gave me a political life, recognition and honour, Yediyurappa said addressing a public meeting. Yediyurappa's statement came even though the BJP's Central Parliamentary Board, the party's highest decision-making body of which he is a member, has not yet cleared the list of candidates Addressing people,

They are the contenders, the leaders of parties that will finally form a government in Karnataka. ADITI PHADNIS profiles the challengers

Senior JD(S) MLA from Arkalgud A T Ramaswamy on Friday resigned as legislator, ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka. Ramaswamy submitted his resignation to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Secretary at Vidhana Soudha here, as Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri is in his hometown of Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district. It is not yet clear as to whether he will join the BJP or Congress. Ramaswamy is the second JD(S) MLA to quit as legislator this week. On March 27, another MLA of the party S R Srinivas (Gubbi Srinivas alias Vasu) resigned and joined the Congress on Thursday. "I have happily resigned as Arkalgud MLA. I have submitted my resignation to the Assembly Secretary, and once the Speaker comes I will meet him and request him to accept it," Ramaswamy said, speaking to reporters. He thanked the JD(S) for having given him the opportunity to serve as a member of the Legislative Assembly, and said he has never done politics for personal gains and has served the people of t

Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is no match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that his party would come back to power with absolute majority. The four-time Chief Minister also sought to reach out to Muslims saying the BJP government has not done "injustice" to the minority community. He was referring to the recent decision of the state government to scrap four per cent reservation for Muslims under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and placing them under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) pool. Yediyurappa said the Congress is "day-dreaming" of coming to power and claimed that the M Mallikarjuna Kharge-led party would not cross the 65-70 seats mark. Elections to the 224-member Assembly would be held on May 10. "BJP will come back to power with absolute majority under the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modiji", Yediyurappa said at a press conference at the state BJP office. "I wish to ask Congress party

Yediyurappa further maintained that as it was not possible to provide reservation on the basis of religion, they are brought under EWS quota

"The wave is for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP. We will form the government with majority," Yediyurappa stated

The term of the current assembly expires on May 24. A total of 52.1 million voters are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections

The agitators gave vent to their anger, alleging that "less" reservation was given to the 'Scheduled Caste-Touchables', to which the Banjara community belongs

Karnataka Congress MLA Priyank Kharge said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has no credible face in the southern state so they have again "started holding hands" with BS Yeddyurappa (BSY).

The infighting within Karnataka's ruling BJP came out in open as Housing Minister V. Somanna, who is reportedly miffed with former CM B.S. Yediyurappa and his son for meddling, reached Delhi

Just ahead of landing, the pilot noticed plastic around the landing zone and the chopper kept hovering around the area as authorities cleaned the zone

The BJP seems to be falling back on its seasoned oarsman B S Yediyurappa making him a key poll mascot, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as it shores up campaign in poll-bound Karnataka. The octogenarian, who has already announced his retirement from electoral politics, is sought to be put on the pedestal by the governing party's central leaders. The reasons are not far to seek as to why Yediyurappa has been pushed to the top of the campaign plank, the four-time Chief Minister, who built the party from grassroots level, has a mass appeal and connect -- particularly the political influential Lingayat community -- that no other party leader in the State commands. It's now quite evident from the BJP's campaign narrative that the party is banking on the "Yediyurappa factor" and putting him up as the "poster boy" by leveraging his clout to the hilt. The BJP central leadership -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party President J P Nadda and Defence

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asked the people of Karnataka to repose faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and said the BJP would give such a government that it would rid the State of corruption and make Karnataka number one in South India within five years. Addressing a public meeting at Sandur, a Congress stronghold, in this district, Shah also took potshots at the M Mallikarjun Kharge-led outfit and the JD(S), saying they were dynastic parties which cannot do good to the people. "On one hand there is PM Modi-led BJP strengthening India, and on the other there is Rahul Gandhi-led Congress linked with 'Tukde-Tukde' gang", he said. Trust PM Modi and Yediyurappa once, and we (BJP) will give such a government that it will rid Karnataka of corruption and make it a number one state in South India, Shah said Assembly elections are due in Karnataka by May.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday declared in state Assembly that he will never contest elections in future and that this is his last session in the house

Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Monday claimed that Congress leader Siddaramaiah was allegedly playing a drama by saying he would not contest the Assembly polls from Kolar segment as announced, and may go back to his home district of Mysuru instead. Ending speculation, Siddaramaiah had earlier this month announced that he would be contesting the polls from Kolar, if the party high command agrees. "Today itself I will say one thing, don't think I'm making a prediction, Siddaramaiah will not contest from Kolar for any reason, he is playing a drama and is trying to go back to Mysuru," Yediyurappa said. Speaking to reporters here, the former Chief Minister said the Congress legislature party leader is aware that he would face a defeat and have to go home, if he contests from Kolar. "He is playing political circus and drama, according to me, he will not contest from there (Kolar) and may try to go back to Mysuru, if that happens we will do the strategy we need to," he added. Asked

Preparing for the Assembly polls in about five months, Karnataka BJP's 'Jana Sankalpa Yatre' led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and party strongman and parliamentary board member B S Yeduyurappa will resume here on Monday. The Yatre will be covering Udupi, and Kitturu-Karnataka districts of Gadag, Haveri, and Belagavi, during the next three days. The BJP had launched Jan Sankalpa Yatra from Raichur last month. Two teams- one led by CM and Yediyurappa and the other led by state BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel- have planned to cover 52 Assembly segments across the state before December 25. Bommai on Sunday had said that the party's ST Morcha's convention will be held in Ballari on November 20 and the SC Morcha rally in Mysuru on November 30. State BJP office has said that party's national secretary in-charge of the state, Arun Singh will be visiting various parts of Kalyana Karnataka region like Kalaburagi, Indi, Sindagi, also parts of Chitradurga, Davangere and Tumakuru distri

Sniping at the senior leadership of the party has reached a new high in the BJP in Karnataka. For the moment, there is a truce, but the party knows the damage it could do ahead of the polls

The Congress on Wednesday termed Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and state BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa having breakfast at a Dalit's house, as a "photo-op" for the sake of votes, ahead of assembly election next year in the state. While Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah hit out at the ruling BJP for not doing enough for the sake for dalits and other backward communities so far, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala took a dig at Bommai government by highlighting an incident where over a dozen Dalit workers were allegedly assaulted and held captive at an estate in Chikkamagaluru. "As elections are approaching, they have started remembering Dalits, backward classes, SCs and STs, till now nothing has been done for their welfare by this government. Now for the sake of election and votes, they are visiting areas where Dalits and backward communities live," Siddaramaiah, who is here to take part in 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by Rahul Gandhi, told ...

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