Karnataka assembly elections 2018 LIVE UPDATES: Congress President Rahul Gandhi began the eighth phase of Jana Ashirwada Yatre on Thursday. (INC/Twitter)
As the electoral heat reaches its peak in Karnataka, both BJP and Congress leaders campaigned across the state. While Rahul Gandhi addressed public meetings in Gajendragarh and Kalaburagi, BJP released its poll manifesto earlier in the day. BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa promised to re-introduce the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation Bill 2012 if the party came to power in the assembly elections slated for next week. At the inauguration of the election manifesto, Yeddyurappa stressed on the party’s commitment towards the welfare of the farmers and also announced various measures for them in the state.
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While addressing party workers in Kalaburagi, he took several potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over several issues ranging from crimes against women to Amit Shah’s son’s alleged business expansion. The state is set to go to the polls on May 12 while counting is scheduled for May 15.
Karnataka assembly elections 2018 LIVE UPDATES: Congress President Rahul Gandhi began the eighth phase of Jana Ashirwada Yatre on Thursday. (INC/Twitter)
Congress President addressing the final public meeting of the day once again attacked the government on the implementation of GST and demonetisation and said the PM placed 'Gabbar Singh' to take money from your pockets and place it in the hands of Nirav Modi. Now he wants that the entire gang of Gabbar Singh which includes Reddy brothers enter Vidhan Sabha.
Siddharamiah govt is letting Jihadi elements in the state grow. Be it Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka, terrorism should not have space in our country. People in power who support them should be removed: UP CM Yogi Adityanath at Bagalkot
"...it is not that we have not given ticket to anybody (father, son), but giving it to one of the senior leaders and his son or daughter is different, and giving a ticket to Yeddyurappa (son) is different." Yeddyurappa thought it "would rob the BJP of its ammunition in its fight against dynasty politics," said BJP general secretary Muralidhar Rao.
The election is a battle between two ideologies, on one side it's the ideology of Congress, Basavanna and Karnataka, while on the other is the ideology of BJP and RSS which wants to impose a singular thinking that does not respect your culture, food, and heritage
PM Modi neither understands nor follows Basavanna's teachings, said Rahul Gandhi while addressing a public meeting in Gajendragarh. He added PM Modi's words are hollow. He has failed to fulfil the promises he made to the people of this country.
PM Modi had promised Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every India, however, he failed to deliver on his promises, says Rahul Gandhi. He added that Modiji promised youth that he will provide them 2 crore jobs, but that too was not fulfilled.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath cut shorts his campaign trip to Karnataka and will return to Agra tonight, after the death of over 100 people in the dust storm in the state. Adityanath was receiving immense criticism over his absence from the state at a time of such grave incident. He will review the relief and restoration works tomorrow morning. CM will then leave for Kanpur to monitor the restoration work there.
Even if Rahul Gandhi uses binocular, he can't see Congress emerging victorious in the coming days. I wonder how Rahul Ji can dream of such things, says BJP President Amit Shah in Bhopal. The party is gearing up for elections in Madhya Pradesh.
Reaching out to farmers, the BJP manifesto for the Karnataka Assembly polls today promised allocation of Rs 1.5 lakh crore for irrigation projects and waiver of farm loan up to Rs one lakh borrowed from nationalised and cooperative banks. The manifesto, unveiled by BJP state unit president and the party's chief ministerial candidate, B S Yeddyurappa also said if voted to power, it would bring out a 'white paper' on the financial health of the state under the Congress rule. (PTI)
"Amit Shah himself had said Yeddyurappa is the most corrupt politician. Does PM Modi want him and the Reddys to loot the country?" Rahul asked.
He was referring to an incident in which Shah left Yeddyurappa embarrassed with a slip of tongue by calling him the most corrupt person.
Upping the ante against BJP chief Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi said, "While business was greatly affected across the country, however, Amit Shah's son managed to convert Rs 50,000 into Rs 80 crore in three months. Still, PM Modi chose to remain silent."
The Congress chief was referring to reports which claimed that Jay Shah's firm Temple Enterprise's turnover grew exponentially after the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014.
Continuing his attack on the Modi government, Rahul said, "While businesses in India are having a difficult time, the firm owned by the son of BJP President turned Rs. 50,000 into Rs. 80 crore."
Attacking the Modi government over the rising crimes against women, Rahul said, "Earlier, the government's slogan was 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao'. Now it is 'Beti Bachao BJP MLAs se' (Save girls from BJP MLAs).
"No one can go hungry in Karnataka. In Gujarat, you will see several of such people. Here, we provide free rice to several homes - 1kg per person," Rahul said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is at present addressing a rally in Kalgi, said, "PM Modi will never forget to mention Dalits in his public meetings. However, he will remain silent when a Dalit is actually attacked by his partymen."
BJP Amit Shah extended his condolences to the family of MLA Vijaykumar. He said, "Pained to know about the demise of Shri B N Vijaykumar ji, our candidate from Jayanagar, Bengaluru. My deepest condolences to his family & followers in this hour of grief. He had been a dedicated karyakarta & two term MLA who was loved & admired by all. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti."
Earlier in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also attacked the prime minister for calling Bengaluru a "garbage city". "Dear PM, Calling Bengaluru, the garden city & the pride of India a "garbage city" is insulting. Building lies comes naturally to you, but you seem to find building cities very difficult. The data nails your lies," he tweeted.
Meanwhile, sitting BJP MLA B N Vijaykumar died of a massive heart attack at a hospital in Bengaluru early this morning. A candidate for the May 12 assembly elections, Vijaykumar had collapsed during an election campaign in Jayanagar constituency in the city and was shifted to government-run Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, where efforts to resuscitate him failed, state BJP join spokesman S Prakash said.
Continuing his attack on the BJP, Congress state party chief Dr G Parameshwara accused PM Modi and his party of "insulting Bengalureans by making baseless allegations". He said, "The whole world recognises Bengaluru as a Dynamic City. But instead of being proud of it, PM Modi calls it a 'Sin' City."
Addressing the media on the election manifesto, Yeddyurappa said the BJP is committed towards improving the lives of the farmers. "Welfare of farmers has always been our priority. We will allocate Rs 1,50,000 Cr for various irrigation projects in Karnataka and ensure water reaches to every field in the state," he said.
The Congress, on the other hand, is addressing a press conference where state party chief Dr. G Parameshwara has expressed confidence of coming back to power in Karnataka. "We are totally confident of coming back to power in Karnataka. This is from the ground level feedback we are getting from across the state," he said.
BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa releases the manifesto for Karnataka elections.
Taking a swipe at the prime minister over his Friday's statements on women empowerment, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused Modi of "tokenism" and "pretending to talk about Nari Shakti". Taking to Twitter, he said,
Modi also spoke on the recent promulgation of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 for effective deterrence against the commission of rape. He said:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who interacted with Karnataka BJP workers via the NaMo app earlier in the day, stressed on the initiatives taken by his government for women empowerment. "India is marching ahead from women development to women led development," he told BJP Mahila Morcha workers.
With just a week left for the assembly elections, the electoral battle has intensified in Karnataka. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address three public and corner meetings in Kalburgi, Gadag and Haveri districts today. The BJP, on the other hand, is set to release its election manifesto, a week after the Congress released its agenda. Follow this space for latest updates.