Karnataka minister resigns after losing by-poll

August 31st, 2009 BANGALORE - Karnataka Housing Minister V. Somanna resigned from the state cabinet on Monday following his defeat in the recent by polls to the state assembly.

August 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Monday censured Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa for violating the model code of conduct by promising loans to farmers in the Kollegal assembly constituency where by-poll is being held Tuesday.

June 29th, 2009 BANGALORE - Former Union Law Minister H R Bharadwaj will take over as the Governor of Karnataka today. Bhardwaj replaces Rameshwar Thakur, who has been appointed Madhya Pradesh Governor for his remaining tenure.

June 11th, 2009 BANGALORE - The external affairs ministry has decided to set up four passport facilitation centres in Karnataka to help people apply for and secure passports with ease, the state government said Thursday. "The ministry has decided to locate two facilitation centres in Bangalore and one each at Hubli in central Karnataka and Mangalore in coastal Karnataka.

May 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy Monday offered his party's support to the Congress-led government at the centre but wanted assurance of development in his state Karnataka.

May 14th, 2009 BANGALORE - While everyone awaits the Lok Sabha poll results on May 16, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have an additional reason to worry over how they perform in Karnataka, for the party which bagged the highest number of the state's 28 seats in the last two polls lost power in New Delhi. In 1999, Karnataka elected 18 Congress MPs only to see the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) returning to power at the centre.

May 1st, 2009 BANGALORE - One person was killed and three injured in Karnataka Friday when Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel fired on a group of people after a verbal duel with them, police said. The incident occurred at Dharmasthala, a pilgrimage centre in coastal Dakshina Kannada district, about 300 km from here.

April 30th, 2009 BANGALORE - Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa came with his son, who is contesting elections for the BJP, to cast his vote on Thursday.

April 13th, 2009 BANGALORE - Former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular president H.D. Deve Gowda, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief D.V.

March 23rd, 2009 BANGALORE - Congress President Sonia Gandhi will launch her party's campaign for the Lok Sabha elections from Davangere in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Karnataka today. The launch of the campaign from Karnataka is seen significant as Karnataka was once seen as a Congress stronghold and where the BJP is considered to have made inroads.

March 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Congress President Sonia Gandhi is likely to launch the party campaign for the Lok Sabha elections from Davangere in Karnataka March 23, party sources said Monday. Launching the election campaign from Karnataka is a strategic decision for the party as the state was once considered its stronghold but was lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2008.

March 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress Saturday said 'all options' on alliance in Karnataka for the Lok Sabha polls were open even as former chief minister S. Bangarappa, who quit the Samajwadi Party, returned to the party to 'strengthen secular forces'.

March 4th, 2009 BANGALORE - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken the lead over Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in finalising candidates for the two-phase Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka and claims its performance would be better than the previous polls. A day after the election dates were announced Monday, the party claimed that it would win 22 out of the 28 seats, four more than it had won in the last polls in 2004.

January 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) Friday said that it would be a credible alliance partner in the third front against the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and reiterated that it would not be in any electoral alliance with the Congress. The party described as 'rubbish' reports in a section of the media that the JD-S has started discussions with the Congress leadership for a poll alliance in Karnataka for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

January 29th, 2009 BANGALORE - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka Friday said it has not offered a party ticket to former Test captain Anil Kumble to fight the Lok Sabha polls from the state. Sources close to the spinner also said that all that talk of his jumping into the electoral fray is baseless.