09:55 JD(S) legislative party to meet begin shortly: In Bengaluru, JD(S) MLAs wait for the legislative party meeting to begin shortly.
With Karnataka throwing up a fractured verdict, both the BJP and the JD(S)-Congress combine have staked claim to form government.
The Congress and JD(S) now fear horse trading by the BJP.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said the party is taking care to make sure its MLAs are not poached. JD(S) leader Saravana said, “I don’t know what they (BJP) are offering but they are trying to call our people, but they are not responding. We are all together, no one can touch our party. Our party MLAs are loyal to the party.”
Outgoing Congress Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated outright that the BJP may try to poach its MLAs.
Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress who was part of the entourage which met the governor at the Raj Bhavan, said JD(S) has faith in its MLAs. “Nobody is going to go away. Let BJP try, whatever they want to,” Azad said.
All eyes are now set on Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, who will take the crucial decision– whom to call first to form the government in the state.
It is solely up to Governor Vala to take this major decision to whether call the single largest party i.e. BJP or the coalition party to stalk its claims to form the next government in Karnataka.
09:31 Madhya Pradesh: Mandatory for students to answer roll call with ‘Jai Hind’ : Madhya Pradesh government has announced that from now onwards, it is mandatory for the school students in the state to answer their roll-call with “Jai Hind”.
The education department stated that this step will instill a sense of patriotism among the students, read an official statement.
Earlier in November 2017, Madhya Pradesh School Education Minister Vijay Shah said now students would answer to roll-calls by saying “Jai Hind” instead of “yes sir” and “yes ma’am”.
He had said that the step would be enforced in all 1.22 lakh government schools, and an advisory in this regard would also be issued to all private schools. – ANI
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09:25 BJP leader says party in touch with Cong, JD-S MLAs:
BJP leader K S Eshwarappa says his party is in touch with “some” Congress and JD-S MLAs as the saffron party hopes to stitch together a majority.
The Janata Dal-Secular is scheduled to hold its Legislature Party meeting where all its newly-elected MLAs will be present at Le Meridien Hotel in Bengaluru.
Government formation in Karnataka is a tricky affair now with the Karnataka assembly election results 2018 throwing up a hung assembly, giving 104 seats to the BJP, 78 seats to the Congress and 37 seats to the JD-S.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Kushtagi Amaregouda Linganagouda Patil Bayyapur alleges that he was offered a ministry by the BJP in lieu of support and claims to have rejected the offer.
08:49 West Bengal panchayat elections: Re-polling to be held in 568 booths:
As violence was reported in a number of places during panchayat polls in West Bengal, which was held on May 14, re-polling will be held in 568 booths across various districts today.
This development came after a number of candidates who were contesting the panchayat polls met State Election Commission, demanding re-polling in their booths.
The panchayat elections in West Bengal saw huge-scale clashes on Monday between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress workers, resulting in the death of at least 12 people.
Taking note of the incident, the ministry of home affairs also sought a report from the state government regarding incidents of violence during the elections in the state.
The voting took place for 621 zilla parishads, over 6,000 panchayat samitis, and nearly 31 thousand gram panchayats.
The counting of votes will be held on May 17.
— ANI
08:33 Varanasi flyover collapse: 4 officials suspended:
After 18 people lost their lives and several others are feared trapped after a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed near a railway station in Varanasi on Tuesday, four officials — Chief Project Manager HC Tiwari, Project Manager KR Sudan, Assistant Engineer Rajesh Singh & engineer Lal Chand — have been suspended with immediate effect.
An official of the UP State Bridge Corporation said that the body was set to pace up the work in order to complete the flyover by October. The piece of the flyover which fell was laid two months ago and interlocking work was being done, said K R Sudan, an official of UP State Bridge Corporation.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced compensation of Rs 500,000 for kin of those killed in the incident, Rs 200,000 for those who have been injured. CM Adityanath has also set up a three-member committee to probe flyover collapse.
08:17 Pradhan, JP Nadda appointed as BJP observers in Karnataka:
Union Minister for Oil and Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda will attend a party meeting in Karnataka on Wednesday as Bharatiya Janata Party’s observers.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at 11 am on Wednesday to discuss the state assembly election results announced a day before.
The BJP which managed to gain a hold on 104 seats has emerged as the single largest party but has failed to cross the half-way mark of 112 in the 224-member assembly.
On the other hand, Congress and Janata Dal-Secular, with 78 and 38 seats respectively, are staking claim to form a government in the state.
On Tuesday, outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah even said JD-S leader HD Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, will be the next chief minister.
Further, Bharatiya Janata Party chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa said he is going to meet the state’s governor to request him to allow his party to form the government.
All eyes are now set on Karnataka’s Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala. As per the constitutional provision, the single-largest party is invited to form the government in the case of a fractured mandate.
— ANI
07:53 JD-S to hold meeting of new MLAs at 5-star hotel; Cong meeting at 8:30 am:
The Janata Dal-Secular is scheduled to hold its Legislature Party meeting where all its newly-elected MLAs will be present at Le Meridien Hotel in Bengaluru.
Government formation in Karnataka is a tricky affair now with the Karnataka assembly election results throwing up a hung assembly, giving 104 seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party, 78 seats to the Congress and 37 seats to the JD-S.
The Congress has dramatically backed the JD-S for chief ministership and both parties are likely to parade their MLAs before Governor Vajubhai Vala this morning.
The Congress is likely to hold a meeting before that at 8:30 am.
The BJP, too, has staked claim to form the Karnataka government, but is nine seats short of the majority mark. All eyes are now on who the Governor will invite first to form the government in Karnataka.
00:13 Karnataka: BJP legislature party to meet today: The Bharatiya Janata Party that has emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka, where assembly polls has thrown up a hung verdict, has called a meeting of its newly-elected legislature party today.
The meeting under the presidentship of its state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa is likely to elect him as the new leader of the BJP legislature party, party sources said.
Much before the polls, BJP had announced Yeddyurappa as its chief ministerial candidate.
With the magic figure of 113 seats to form the government elusive for the BJP, Congress and JD-S leaders met governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form JD-S-led government in Karnataka.
Yeddyurappa also met the governor and staked claim to form the government.
The governor is said to have told both delegations that he will take a decision once he receives communication from the election commission about the poll results.
Meanwhile, the Congress legislature party is also meeting today, party sources said. — PTI
Source: Rediff