Karnataka polls: Siddaramaiah's welfare schemes can decide Congress' fate

In its election rhetoric against the ruling Congress government in Karnataka, there is one thing that rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rarely attacks–the state’s flagship welfare schemes, especially, Anna Bhagya which provides free rice and subsidised foodgrains for those living below poverty line (BPL).

Karnataka, the only southern state governed by the Congress party, is slated for assembly elections on May 12, 2018. And BJP chief ministerial candidate and state party president BS Yeddyurappa has said that his party would retain all the good welfare programmes initiated by the Congress government.

All he would do is change their names if he came to power, The Hindu reported on May 7, 2018. The BJP has also sought some credit for these schemes.

Karnataka polls: BJP fields most criminals, Congress the richest candidates

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is at the first spot and the Congress is at the second position in giving tickets to candidates with criminal background in the Karnataka Assembly Election 2018, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The top three candidates with highest assets among all the candidates in fray belong to the ruling Congress -- Priyakrishna, from Govindarajanagar constituency with Rs 10.20 billion worth total assets, N Nagaraju from Hosakote Assembly seat with assets valued at Rs 10.15 billion and the state Energy Minister D K Shivakumar from Kanakapura segment with Rs 8.4 billion assets.
The ADR released the report after analysing the affidavits filed by 2,560 candidates, which said that 391 candidates declared criminal cases against themselves.

Of the total candidates, the watchdog could not analyse details of 95 candidates belonging to national, regional, local and fringe parties, as their affidavits were badly scanned or were incomplete on the websites of the poll panel and the Chief Electoral Officer of the southern state

Karnataka polls 2018: Siddaramaiah, Cong respond to Modi charges; updates

With the Karnataka Assembly election drawing closer, mudslinging between the main rivals -- the Congress and the Bharatiya janata Party (BJP) -- seems to have intensified.

Addressing election rallies in the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of being obsessed with the "politics of dynasty" and dared Congress President Rahul Gandhi to speak for 15 minutes on the achievements of the Siddaramaiah government without a piece of paper.

"For the Congress, it has always been about family politics But for us (BJP), it is about people's politics. People of the state will decide which kind of politics they will choose (in the upcoming election)," Modi said.

He also charged the Congress with blocking development and blamed it for political violence that led to the death of several members of the RSS and BJP cadre in the state.

"Where there is Congress, all roads that lead to development are blocked. There is only family politics, corruption and lack of harmony," he said.

Hours later, Siddaramaiah took to Twitter to respond to all the allegations made by the prime minister. In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah accused Modi of lying for political gains and challenged him for a debate on Karnataka's crime rate.

End jungle raj', Siddaramaiah slams Yogi after UP CM's 'beef eater' barb

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday lashed out at his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath's earlier address in Bengaluru, and opined that the latter could "learn a lot" from him.

During Adityanath's ongoing visit to the state, Siddaramaiah tweeted, "I welcome UP CM Yogi Adityanath to our state. There is a lot you can learn from us Sir. When you are here, please visit an Indira Canteen and a ration shop. It will help you address the starvation deaths sometimes reported from your state".

Earlier in the day, Adityanath, while addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in the garden city, accused Siddaramaiah of intermixing religion and politics, thus following the footsteps of Congress President Rahul Gandhi ahead of the assembly polls in Gujarat.

He further questioned Siddaramaiah on why he was "endorsing beef eaters" if he was a Hindu.

In an earlier tweet, Siddaramaiah lashed out at the UP Chief Minister, suggesting that he should primarily focus on ending 'Jungle Raj' in his state, and retrospect upon the increasing number of deaths of children in hospitals.

"Yogi Adityanath should first get rid of Jungle Raj in Uttar Pradesh and save children who are dying in the hospital. Let us understand then", he tweeted in Kannada.

On a related note, Adityanath is scheduled to take part in the BJP-led 'Parivartan Yatra' in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly polls.
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