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Time of India
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
DK Suresh elected Bengaluru Milk Union chairman, eyes KMF post
B engaluru: Former Bangalore Rural MP, DK Suresh, brother of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, was elected unopposed as chairman of Bengaluru Milk Union (Bamul) on Thursday. This marks Suresh's first electoral victory since his defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He secured the Bamul chairmanship after winning a seat on the union's board representing Kanakapura. Alongside Suresh, 10 other Congress-backed candidates had previously won seats, bringing the party's total to 11 out of 14 on the union board. With this strong backing, Suresh submitted his nomination papers for the chairman post and was declared winner without opposition. Sources suggest Suresh is poised to contest the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) chairman post, elections to which are likely in July. KMF oversees 16 milk unions across Karnataka's lucrative dairy industry and wields considerable political clout. However, Suresh's nomination for the KMF post could run into stiff resistance since chief minister Siddaramaiah's camp is backing Malur MLA KY Nanje Gowda. The situation is further complicated by current KMF chairman LBP Bheema Naik's claim that Siddaramaiah had assured him of another term. In fact, Naik, recently met Siddaramaiah regarding a delay in elections of another milk union spanning Raichur, Ballari, and Vijayanagara districts (RBKV). Naik expressed concern that the delay could diminish his support base and ruin his chance of winning again. Speaking to a Kannada news channel, Naik said the Dharwad bench of the high court cleared the way for elections on June 2, following a previous stay order. However, he claimed that the deputy commissioner of Ballari district, who wrote to the Cooperative Election Commissioner on June 12, has not taken steps to conduct the polls. Naik further alleged that some Congress MLAs and cooperative representatives in Ballari are dissatisfied with cooperation minister KN Rajanna. "I tried to contact Rajanna, but he is not answering my calls," Naik said. "Rajanna and I are like brothers. "Some vested interests have given him incorrect information which is why he is delaying polls."
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Suvendu Adhikari shares video of Sandeshkhali activist alleging threats by TMC-backed goons
Kolkata: Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal assembly , Suvendu Adhikari , on Thursday, has shared a video where one of the leading faces of women's movement at Sandeshkhali ast year, where she was seen describing how she had been threatened and abused by Trinamool Congress-backed goons during the last few days. 'One of the protesting mothers and sisters who spoke out against Sheikh Shahjahan's criminal empire in Sandeshkhali; sister Piyali Das (Mampi) was tried to lure into their party by various means by the Trinamool for the past few days. When Piyali Das did not give in to that temptation, later the police started pressuring her. Sandeshkhali Police Station OC Bolai Ghosh called Piyali Das on WhatsApp and abused her in unspeakable words, threatened her, said that she would have to pay the price for not listening, that no one would be able to do anything about the action he would take for her, etc,' Adhikari posted in his X Handle, sharing the video. Mampi Das, a BJP worker and one of the prominent faces of Sandeshkhali protest, claimed that she has been called to the police station and pressurized to join Trinamool. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas in Dubai | Search ads Learn More Undo Adhikari said, 'Sandeshkhali OC Bolai Ghosh used all these threats on the WhatsApp of the local village police Bishwajit Das' phone so that there would be no direct evidence against her. Sandeshkhali's protesting sister Piyali Das has bravely stood firm in her decision, ignoring the hundreds of temptations and threats from the ruling Trinamool Congress and its police. She has not bowed her head. I admire her courageous attitude. We have repeatedly said that the Trinamool does not have the support of the common people, the existence of the Trinamool in the state is for the police, jihadis and miscreants. The truth of our claim has been proven once again in this incident. The reign of these thieves and robbers will not last long, there will be a change.' Meanwhile, Adhikari today accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government for its 'anti-Guajarati mindset' following allegations by some ministers of state cabinet accusing the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)- West Bengal for awarding tender for election-related work to a Gujarat-based company . Live Events Speaking on the floor of the assembly, the state municipal affairs & urban development minister and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor, Firhad Hakim said that recently the office of CEO, West Bengal floated a tender for election-related work for the bypolls for Kaliganj assembly constituency which is being conducted on Thursday. State Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also made similar allegations during a media interaction.
The Wire
a day ago
- Politics
- The Wire
A Test for Ruling Parties as Bypolls in Five Crucial Constituencies Get Underway
Voting for bypolls in five crucial assembly constituencies spread across four states began on June 19, amidst pitched campaigns by all parties in the fray. The bypolls will especially test the political mettle of ruling parties, especially in West Bengal and Kerala, where assembly elections are slated next year, while in Gujarat and Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party that has kept a low profile since its loss in Delhi assembly polls, will look to recover some ground. The constituencies where bypolls were held are Nilambur (Kerala), Kaliganj (West Bengal), Ludhiana West (Punjab), Visavadar and Kadi (Gujarat). The polls in Nilambur are particularly interesting, as the seat was vacated by two-time Left-backed independent legislator P.V. Anvar after his much-publicised fallout with the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Anvar, who began as a leader of Congress-backed Kerala Students Union has had a patchy political journey; he joined the breakaway faction Democratic Indira Congress led by the late K. Karunakaran after breaking ranks with the Congress and later joined hands with the Left Democratic Front as an independent contestant from Nilambur. He was seen as a zealous supporter of chief minister Vijayan but later blamed the state police for its alleged anti-minority mindset. He accused the police under Vijayan of stigmatising Muslim residents of Malappuram district as 'gold smugglers' and 'hawala operators' and severely lashed out at the chief minister for its conspicuous silence. Anvar even attempted to seek support from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, only to be rebuffed by Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin. Finally, he joined the Trinamool Congress, declared that he would lead its expansion in Kerala, and submitted his resignation as the Nilambur MLA to evade anti-defection law. Although popular, Anvar is not contesting the bypolls himself. In this absence, the Left Democratic Front-led by Vijayan will look to win the seat to establish its control in the important Malabar seat. Vijayan has picked M. Swaraj, who has sharply risen in stature in the CPI(M) over the last few years, as the LDF's candidate, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front has nominated its 2016 candidate Aryadan Shoukath to the constituency. Shoukath's father Aryadan Mohammad had won the seat eight times. The UDF faces a challenge too, as it has lost two successive state elections and a win from its traditional seat will boost its confidence and galvanise edgy allies like the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). In any case, the contest is likely to be tight as Anvar has won the seat with a margin of only 2,700 votes in 2021 when he defeated Congress's V.V. Prakash. The urban constituency in Punjab has suddenly become keenly-watched fare, as its electoral outcome will signal whether the ruling Aam Aadmi Party still enjoys its popularity in the state or not. Many observers have noted that the AAP government in the state has been facing a lot of criticism from many sections of the population. Since Ludhiana (West) is an affluent constituency, majorly comprising Hindu Khatris, the BJP is looking to make a comeback and has fielded the popular Jiwan Gupta to take on AAP's Rajya Sabha MP and industrialist Sanjeev Arora, who is contesting his maiden election. The seat fell vacant after sitting AAP legislator Gurpreet Bassi Gogi's death in an accident. AAP's top brass – Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Atishi – have camped in Ludhiana to campaign for Arora, and is said to be overseeing all preparations. In 2022, Gogi defeated Congress's Bharat Bhushan Ashu by a little over 7,500 votes. Ashu has been fielded by the Congress again. The BJP believes that its candidate Gupta will get votes from traditional AAP and Congress supporters, and is likely to challenge the two parties like never before. However, the BJP has never won this seat. On the other hand, the Congress has won the seat six times since its creation in 1977, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) has won it twice. In this image released by @msisodia via X on June 17, 2025, AAP leader Manish Sisodia during a roadshow for the Ludhiana West Assembly constituency by-elections, in Ludhiana, Punjab. Photo: X/@msisodia via PTI. The saffron party, however, hopes to repeat its Lok Sabha performance in the seat. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Ludhiana seat was won by Congress's Amarinder Singh Raja Warring but the BJP's candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu, who had recently defected from the Congress, had taken a lead in the assembly segment. The party's performance will also be a test case for Sunil Jakhar, who was made the party president of the state after the former senior Congress leader defected to the BJP. The SAD has fielded Parupkar Singh Ghuman, a prominent lawyer in the city, and it will look to claw back into relevance after a series of electoral setbacks in the state. However, its presence in the urban seat has been marginal lately. Here, the contest appears to be polarised between the ruling Trinamool Congress and a fledgling BJP. While TMC has fielded Alifa Ahamed, daughter of the sitting MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed who died of a cardiac arrest, the BJP has nominated Ashish Ghosh. The seat has historically seen a tight contest between the TMC and the Congress, the latter having been dominant for many years. However, over the last decade, the TMC has registered its strong organisational presence in the seat, while Congress has weakened considerably. The shift can be seen in the difference between the electoral outcomes of 2016 and 2021. In 2016, the Congress's Hasanuzzaman S.K. narrowly defeated the TMC 's Nasiruddin Ahamed but the grand old party faded into a distant third position in 2021 registered on around 12% votes. TMC's Ahamed won the seat with over 53% votes in 2021 but the BJP, which had received only 5.56% votes in 2016, shot to the second position with nearly 31% votes, indicating a strong Hindu-Muslim polarisation. The saffron party has yet again attempted to polarise the elections along religious lines by raking up memories of the recent Murshidabad riots where Hindus were allegedly attacked by Muslim protestors against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. It has attempted to consolidate Hindu votes, while hoping a division among the Muslims between the TMC and the Congress in the minority-dominated seat. The Congress has fielded a relatively new face, Kabil Uddin. TMC candidate Alifa Ahmed during a campaign rally for the bypoll of Kaliganj Assembly constituency, in Nadia district, West Bengal, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Photo: PTI. The saffron party will look to consolidate its presence in Kadi, which it has won with over 50% votes in the last two elections. However, the Visavadar seat has turned out to be an interesting battleground, with the Aam Aadmi Party fielding Gopal Italia, who shot to fame during the 2015 Patidar agitation in the state. Kejirwal has himself addressed multiple rallies in Visavadar in support of Italia. AAP's Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai Bhayani had won Visavadar in Gujarat's Junagadh in 2022, but his recent switch to the BJP left the seat vacant. Bhayani had won the seat by securing nearly 45% votes and defeated BJP's Harshadkumar Ribadiya by over 7000 votes. However, the BJP did not field Bhayani for the bypolls and has instead chosen its former district president Kirit Patel. Making the contest triangular is Congress's Nitin Ranpariya, who will be looking to gain a foothold in this former party bastion. BJP appears to be confident in Kadi which it secured over 50% even amidst strong anti-incumbency sentiment against the party in 2017. The chief opposition here is the Congress, which has only fallen through the charts in the last two elections. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
BJP sees opportunity to wrest Mukhtar family's traditional Mau seat in bypoll
Lucknow: The disqualification of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA Abbas Ansari from Mau Sadar assembly seat following his conviction in a hate speech case has necessitated byelection on the seat. All eyes are now on the BJP-led NDA which sees a chance to wrest the constituency which has been a stronghold of late gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari and his family for nearly two decades. Mukhtar's son Abbas Ansari won the seat in 2022 on SBSP ticket, which was then an ally of the Samajwadi Party. Now, SBSP is BJP's ally. Abbas had defeated BJP's Ashok Singh by 48,000 votes. The Mau Sadar seat was represented by Mukhtar since 1996 – twice on a BSP ticket (1996 and 2017), twice as an independent (2002 and 2007), and once as a Quami Ekta Dal candidate in 2012. Mukhtar died following a cardiac arrest while being lodged in Banda jail in Mar 2024. Party sources said BJP's organisational machinery has hit the ground running in the Muslim-dominated constituency. Sources said the party plans to build a groundswell on the lines of Muslim-dominated Rampur and Kundarki assembly seats, which the BJP won in byelections in 2022 and 2024, respectively. UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary said the party is working among the people in the district. "We will intensify the groundwork in the coming days," he said, adding that the party's central leadership would decide the candidate after due consultation. "The byelection on Mau would be contested by the NDA. Whether it would be BJP or SBSP will be decided in due course," he said. SBSP, too, has staked its claim to contest from the seat. SBSP president and UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said his party, which has been a strong contender in Mau Sadar, would seek to contest the byelection with BJP's support. Rajbhar emphasised that the SBSP was the runner-up in 2017 and won the seat in 2022, highlighting the party's growing influence in the region. A senior BJP functionary, however, said the party gave a fair chance to the SBSP by allowing it to contest the Ghosi Lok Sabha seat in 2024 which includes the Mau Sadar segment. The move, however, did not yield the desired results as Congress-backed SP candidate Rajeev Rai defeated Rajbhar's son Arvind by a significant margin of over 1.6 lakh votes. Experts said the BJP wants to capitalise on Mukhtar Ansari family's legal troubles besides highlighting the clean governance of the Yogi govt. Analysts say the disqualification of Abbas Ansari and Mukhtar's absence have significantly weakened the family's political influence in the seat. At present, Mukhtar's brother, Afzal Ansari, is Ghazipur MP on an SP ticket while his elder brother Sibghatullah's son Suhaib Ansari is MLA from Mohamadabad. However, Afzal Ansari too faces multiple criminal cases, further jeopardising the family's political future.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
DK Suresh sets sights on KMF chair, ignites Congress turf war
Bengaluru: DK Suresh may have engineered a win for Congress-backed candidates in polls to Bangalore Milk Union Ltd (Bamul) board, a move that has strengthened the former Lok Sabha MP's bid to secure the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) chairman post, but rather than be a source of joy for his party, it has reignited a factional feud within. Supporters of deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar are pushing for his brother Suresh to head KMF, while chief minister Siddaramaiah's camp is backing Malur MLA KY Nanje Gowda. The clash is deepening tensions in the party, already strained by the reported unresolved issue of a power-sharing pact. The situation is further complicated by current KMF chairman LBP Bheema Naik's claim that Siddaramaiah had assured him of another term. KMF governs 16 milk unions in the state and as per its bylaws, chairpersons of unions become directors on its board. A KMF chairman is elected from among them. So far, 15 of the 16 unions have completed elections. The final one — Kolar Milk Union Ltd (Komul) — will vote on June 25. The KMF chairman election will likely be in the first week of July. Bamul's new board will elect its chairperson on June 10. With 11 of 14 members backed by Congress, Suresh is expected to take over. BJP has two members on the board and JD(S) has one. "We have Suresh at the forefront. We need his presence to strengthen KMF," said HS Rajkumar, outgoing Bamul chairman. "Party seniors may have promised somebody in the context of that time, but circumstances have changed now. Suresh will be elected chairman. Nobody can stop him." Shivakumar appears determined to bring his brother back into the spotlight after his 2024 Lok Sabha defeat to BJP from Bangalore Rural and the KMF post appears ideal. It is politically significant, since the federation oversees 25 lakh milk producers across Karnataka. It has historically been a powerful platform too. Former PM HD Deve Gowda's son HD Revanna led KMF for 13 years until 2009, using it to strengthen rural and Vokkaliga base of JD(S). Shivakumar now appears to be eyeing a similar strategy. "Many want me to take over as KMF chairman," said Suresh. "But that requires due procedure and consensus among various stakeholders, including party seniors. Let us wait and see." However, Siddaramaiah loyalists are pushing back. They have reportedly urged the CM not to yield to pressure from Shivakumar's camp. Urban development minister Byrathi Suresh, a Siddaramaiah supporter, recently said the CM will serve a full five-year term, challenging an alleged power-sharing formula. Meanwhile, Nanje Gowda remains firm on his claim. "Even the deputy CM assured me of the post. I hope he and the CM will not go back on their word. I've served the dairy sector for 38 years and I deserve the post," he said.
