1. Karnataka Readies for Five By-Elections on Saturday
A total of 54.5 lakh electorate, including 27.2 lakh men and 27.3 lakh women, will vote in 6,543 polling booths across three Lok Sabha and two Assembly constituencies of Karnataka, by-elections for which will take place tomorrow, a poll official said on Friday.
"Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in Bellary (ST), Mandya and Shimoga parliamentary constituencies and Jamkhandi and Ramanagaram Assembly segments under tight security," an Election Commission official said.
Vote counting in all the five by-elections is on 6 November.
As 51,131 voters are physically challenged, the poll panel has arranged vehicles to ferry them for voting from their homes and drop them back.
In all, 31 candidates are in the fray, including five from the Opposition BJP, three from the Congress and two from the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and 21 others as Independents or from regional outfits.
Source: The New Indian Express
2. Beaten by Cong’s Trojan Horse, Yeddyurappa Challenged Within BJP
On Friday, 2 November, the BJP in Karnataka was on damage control mode. While a set of leaders gave sharply worded statements against the Congress for their “Trojan horse” tactics, the others approached the Karnataka Chief Election Commission, demanding the postponement of the by-election in Ramanagara Assembly constituency.
On the morning of Thursday, 1 November – 48 hours before the by-election in Ramanagara – BJP’s candidate in the constituency had changed camps. Claiming lack of support from the BJP leadership, L Chandrashekar quit the BJP and joined the Congress party. With his departure, and as the by-election is due on Saturday, 3 November, the BJP is now left without a candidate.
During the 24 hours that followed Chandrashekar’s defection, the BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa was at the receiving end of the wrath of the party’s central leadership.
Source: The Quint
3. Bengalureans, Dumping Garbage Could now cost you Rs 500 Instead of Rs 100
Bengaluru Urban Development Minister G Parameshwara announced that the fine for indiscriminate garbage dumping and the burning of waste has been increased from Rs 100 to Rs 500. He stressed that this rule will be followed strictly.
Parameshwara was addressing reporters at the BBMP Office in Malleswaram following a meeting with officials from the civic body's Solid Waste Management Department.
"There are black spots on the sides of the roads because of haphazard waste dumping and burning. So the proposal was made to increase the amount of fine from Rs 100 to Rs 500. We will also appoint a retired army personnel to monitor and penalise offenders," he said.
Source: The News Minute
4. #MeToo: HC Directs Police not to Arrest Arjun Sarja
In what comes as a relief for actor Arjun Sarja, the Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the state (police) not to arrest the actor till the next date of hearing. Justice Dinesh Kumar was hearing a petition filed by Sarja seeking quashing of the FIR filed against him following the complaint lodged by actor Shruti Hariharan accusing Sarja of sexually harassing her. The court also made it clear that the police shall continue the investigation on the complaint filed by the actress.
Source: Deccan Herald
5. 300 Policemen to be Deployed for Sunny Leone’s Bengaluru Event
The high court has asked the Bengaluru police to re-consider Sunny Leone’s application.
(Photo: The Quint)
A pro-Kannada outfit has threatened to disrupt actor Sunny Leone’s performance in Bengaluru on 3 November, claiming that it has bought over 200 tickets to the show.
The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Yuva Sene had taken offence to Leone’s portrayal of the character ‘veeramahadevi’ and called it an insult to the historical figure as well as Kannada culture.
In the past, the fringe group has taken to the streets, burning the actor’s effigies and even shedding blood, to demand that she turn down the role.
As the threats erupted, police on Friday assured the event organisers of adequate protection. Harish Mysore, the director of the event management company organising the show, said the event was not connected to the movie and hence, they had no reason to worry.
Source: News 18
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