In an I-T notice, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar claims the BJP is targeting him politically.

DK Shivakumar

NEW DELHI: DK Shivakumar, the head of the state Congress and deputy chief minister of Karnataka, has claimed to have received an income tax notice on Friday night.

The notification, Shivakumar said, related to a matter that had already been resolved.

 
In an interview with the media on the IT alerts to Congress, he revealed this.

"This is a democratic nation.

A law is in place. This type of action and direction to officials is coming from the BJP administration "Sivakumar remarked.

He declared that the NDA will be defeated by the INDIA bloc, which is why they are inciting panic among the opposition. "They are targeting the opposition, which means they are afraid of the Congress and the INDIA Alliance.

"The NDA will be vanquished by the INDIA Alliance. The BJP is aware of this vulnerability. They are aware that they won't win the election. That's why they're attempting to instill terror. I also received a notification from IT last night regarding an issue that has already been resolved," he continued.

The Congress Party has named Revanth Reddy as Telangana's Chief Minister.

After two days of speculation, the Congress central leadership has named Telangana party chief A. Revanth Reddy as its choice for State Chief Minister. On December 7, he will take the oath of office.

Mr. Reddy was elected as the Congress Legislature Party's (CLP) leader, and he will be the first Congress Chief Minister of Telangana, a state that was formed in 2014. On the basis of a report submitted by the party's poll observers, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge gave his approval.

The president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee was elected with a landslide majority from the Kodangal Assembly constituency, but he and outgoing Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao lost the Kamareddy seat to BJP candidate Katipally Venkataramana Reddy.

'Dynamic Leader'

"Going by the input given by the Congress spectators, counting Karnataka Agent Chief Serve D.K. Shivakumar, party in-charge for Telangana Manikrao Thakare, and other pioneers, the Congress president chosen to assign Mr. Reddy as the CLP pioneer," said All India Congress Committee common secretary K.C. Venugopal at a press conference in Unused Delhi.

The observers were present at the Telangana CLP meeting on December 4, which authorised the party president to nominate the CLP leader.

Mr. Venugopal described Mr. Reddy as a dynamic leader and stated that he, along with all senior leaders, had campaigned extensively in the run-up to the election.

He reaffirmed the party's commitment to the people of Telangana, saying that the new government's top priority would be to fulfil their aspirations and the promises made by the party. He made it clear that the State would be a collaborative effort, with everyone involved in the process.

The observers attended the press conference, as did former CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Nalgonda MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, both of whom were running for the top job. Both had previously met separately with the central observers and Mr. Shivakumar.

The party's focus will now shift to forming the new Council of Ministers. Apart from the Chief Minister, the Cabinet can have a maximum of 17 Ministers. The leadership will have to walk a tightrope to accommodate the ambitious aspirants among its 64 MLAs, a mix of newcomers and seasoned politicians.

"Not Aware": Mamata Banerjee Will Not Attend The Upcoming India Bloc Meeting

In north Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has a prearranged programme. (FILE)

Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, will not be present at this Wednesday's INDIA alliance coordination meeting. On that day, Ms. Banerjee has a prearranged programme in north Bengal. She claimed that the Congress lost the most recent state elections because there were no seat-sharing agreements with other INDIA members.

"I am not informed of this meeting. I've already planned a programme in north Bengal because of this. There, I have a seven-day schedule. Would I have continued with this programme if I had known? Without a doubt, I would have taken it. However, I'm going on the north Bengal tour because we don't have any information," she declared.

According to sources, her party, the Trinamool Congress, might also skip the meeting.

Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh described the meeting as "informal" following Mamata Banerjee's announcement.

The opposition bloc's next meeting was called by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge yesterday, despite the party suffering significant losses at the hands of the BJP in three states. Three months have passed since the last meeting, which took place in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1.

Plans for the Lok Sabha election of the following year are anticipated to be outlined at the meeting.

The Congress suffered a crushing defeat as the BJP swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, strengthening its grip on the Hindi heartland.

The Congress found solace in Telangana, where it defeated the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the state assembly elections, which were widely considered a prelude to the general elections of the following year.

The allies of the INDIA bloc criticised the Congress for putting the Opposition alliance in a state of confusion while it concentrated on the state elections, blaming the party for not fighting the elections together.

Earlier in the day, the chief minister of Bengal claimed that a "division of votes" resulted from the Congress's decision to contest the polls.

Telangana is now a Congress state. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan would have been their victories. The INDIA parties withheld some votes. That is the reality. We had proposed a system of seat sharing. In a speech to the West Bengal Assembly, Ms. Banerjee stated, "They lost because of a division of votes."

"The attempt to bring everyone together should gain momentum," stated Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress. It ought to be demonstrated by their deeds rather than words."

"In the end, everyone is fighting the BJP's autocracy together. We should make the most of the time we have left because there isn't much left. We must work in the best interests of the people, putting aside our own interests. Set aside political egos, the opportunity to fight should be extended to those who are capable and strong in their areas. The people will gain from this," he continued.

Omar Abdullah, the leader of the National Conference, made fun of the Congress yesterday for remembering the INDIA alliance so late: "The Congress chief has invited some INDIA alliance leaders for lunch on December 6. Three months later, they called for the INDIA alliance again. See you later."

A day after the crushing defeat, the Congress declared that it would examine the events in the two states it controlled, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The sources claim that Mr. Kharge stated, "Mistakes have occurred and we will make course corrections." "Over confidence in some states and refusal to adhere to proper candidates and campaign cost us in the last few days of the elections," he stated.

However, a number of opposition leaders emphasised that the INDIA bloc needs to put in more effort ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and that the results will not affect the bloc.

"There are wins and losses. Both those who have triumphed and those who have lost have lessons for us to learn. Leading member of the National Conference (NC), Farooq Abdullah, stated that "India has to be one, it is for everyone, and we need to strengthen the country."

Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, stated that "INDIA has to get back where we started." "We began by emphasising the need to back the parties in the areas where they are most powerful. The polling in 2024 will be historic. Change is on the horizon."

Source: NDTV

Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: According to a survey, Congress will win and BRS will be the main opposition party

 

The Congress is expected to emerge as the single largest party with its least predicted number of seats, very close to the magic figure, according to a pre-poll survey by Aaraa Poll Strategies Private Limited. Though he might win Gajwel, it predicted that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao would lose to his Bharatiya Janata Party opponent, Venkata Ramana Reddy, in Kamareddy.

The poll projects that Congress will prevail in 58 out of 67 seats, dropping the ruling BRS party to second place with 41–49 seats. With a sharp decline in votes cast compared to its previous high, the BJP will win five to seven seats.

With 41.13% of the total valid votes cast, Congress might win, and BRS might come in second with 39.58%. The BJP is expected to garner 10.47% of the total votes cast.

The agency's founder and chairman, Shaik Mastan, blamed the election results primarily on the public's discontent with the family running BRS.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Mr Mastan stated that the survey had credibility because it was operational until the day before the polling, and he further stated that it was not feasible for any organisation to gather enough participants for exit polls.

Predictions indicate that Congress will gain ground in Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, and Khammam, while BRS is expected to win the majority of seats in Ranga Reddy and Karimnagar constituencies. The BJP may win both of the Adilabad seats, which would also benefit Nizamabad.

According to the survey, Jupally Krishna Rao of the Congress is expected to win the Kollapur constituency, even though Karne Shireesha, also known as Barrelakka, is expected to cause significant damage.

He said, "BJP has affected BRS in terms of seats and Congress party in terms of vote share."

He claimed that choosing candidates more than three months in advance was detrimental to BRS since funding ran out just before election day.