The party which won 135 of 224 seats in the Karnataka elections, moved beyond traditional constituencies to make gains in Kittur-Karnataka, central districts and the Old Mysuru region.
With his approach based on 3 pillars — mass outreach, visible leadership & enthusiastic cadre — D. K. Shivakumar had kept up pressure on the BJP government consistently.
Ministers who lost their seats include Deputy CM & Minister of Major-Medium Irrigation Govind Karjol, and V. Somanna, the Minister for Housing and Infrastructure Development.
BJP changed strategy closer to polls and sought to underplay Hindutva, but reverted to it in last leg of campaign. While campaigning, trio frequently spoke about Tipu Sultan, hijab, halal.
At a strike rate of 45%, Assam CM has done the best — the party won 5 of 11 seats where he addressed rallies. UP CM Adityanath and Amit Shah had strike rate of 44 & 34%.
While the party has won 19 seats in the 224-member Karnataka assembly, its tally in 11 Vokkaliga-dominated districts of south Karnataka, a traditional JD(S) support base, is just 15 of 73 seats.
BJP tally went down from 30 to 16 in the region. Anger among sections of Lingayats was a major factor as several religious & community leaders asked followers not to back the party.
SDPI is the political wing of Islamist organisation PFI. This election was the first since PFI was banned by Union govt. Karnataka has a 13 per cent Muslim population.
Sidekicks are quintessential in Bollywood, and every few years, when a star or lead shines, a filmmaker reminds us that the person next to the hero is a key ingredient in the recipe.
SEBI probe concluded that purported loans and fund transfers were paid back in full and did not amount to deceptive market practices or unreported related party transactions.
While the IAF remains committed to the Tejas programme and has placed orders for 180 Tejas Mk1A, the force is eagerly waiting for the Tejas Mk 2 version.
Many really smart people now share the position that playing cricket with Pakistan is politically, strategically and morally wrong. It is just a poor appreciation of competitive sport.
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