Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Amit Shah rolls out Lok Sabha campaign in Karnataka, and more

Building up tempo for the BJP’s poll battle for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Chief Minister and Deputy CM of neglecting the interests of the State due to their power tussle, and trying to politicise the issue of drought assistance from the Centre.

Even as Mr. Shah accused the Congress government of delaying the process of sending the memorandum to the Centre for drought assistance by three months, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah questioned the Union Home Minister’s moral right to seek votes from the people of Karnataka without releasing Central aid for drought relief.

The State Government has submitted three memorandums seeking Central assistance for drought since October 2023. A Central team visited the State for inspection and submitted a report while Mr. Siddaramaiah had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 19 and Mr. Shah on December 20.

Former minister and BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa, who raised a banner of revolt against the BJP in Karnataka, received a call from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 2. The former minister has been asked to travel to Delhi for consultations. He is ready to bow out of the contest if the BJP’s State unit president, B.Y. Vijayendra is replaced by April 3, he is believed to have told Mr. Shah. 

Listing out the reasons for his decision to contest as an Independent, Mr. Eshwarappa said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been fighting against the Congress, which is controlled by one family, the BJP has also come into the clutches of one family in Karnataka, he said, in a reference to B.S. Yediyurappa’s influence over the party in the State.

With parts of Kerala becoming non-conducive for continuation of their operations, the Kannada-speaking members of Maoist’s ‘Kabini Dalam’ are scouting for areas in Karnataka that are conducive for their operations, according to officers closely monitoring the anti-Naxal operations in the State.

Four armed individuals — two men and two women — were recently seen in Koojimale near Sampaje, on the border of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts. Based the description given by the villagers, the police suspect these members to be Vikram Gowda, Vanajakshi, Lata and John. A senior official said these four are among the 14-odd Kannada speaking members of Kabini Dalam who are tasked with scouting for a new place in Karnataka to continue their operations.