The campaign for the assembly polls in India’s southern Karnataka state has become increasingly contentious after the opposition Congress party accused a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of plotting to assassinate its president Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife and his entire family.

The sensational charge was made by Congress member and party’s Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala during a press conference on Saturday.

During the press briefing, he played an audio clip purportedly of Manikanta Rathod, the BJP candidate from Chittapur constituency in Kalaburagi district, where he can be heard saying in the Kannada language that he will "wipe out Kharge, his wife and children".

&nbsp;“I am going to play for you an audio recording of an assassination plot to wipe out none less than the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife, and his entire family as being hatched by the BJP leaders. There can be nothing more serious than that.”

He added that "the assassination plots have entered the electoral discourse of Karnataka and this was the lowest political discourse anyone can stoop to.”

He claimed that BJP leaders are “intimidated by the all-round blessings of Kannadigas being showered on the Congress party”, and sensing “complete rout”, the BJP leaders a hatching a plot to eliminate Kharge and his family.

BJP candidate Rathod, on the other hand, refuted the assassination allegations saying, “It is all a lie. They are playing some fake audio. The Congress is levelling baseless allegations fearing defeat,” reports PTI news agency.

Reacting to the allegations, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said an investigation would be conducted to find out the authenticity of the recording.

“I do not know about the audio. That will be investigated. We will take it seriously and get it investigated."

Karnataka polls to begin on May 10

The state will go to polls on May 10. The election results will be declared on May 13. There are a total of 224 seats in Karnataka, the seventh-largest legislative assembly by strength. The majority mark is 112.

The incumbent BJP is facing a massive anti-incumbency wave due to massive corruption charges, and public distrust towards the functioning of the government.

What happened in the last election?

The 2018 Karnataka assembly polls gave a hung assembly with BJP emerging as the single largest party. The saffron party won 104 seats while the coalition of Congress and JD (S) won 87 and 30 seats respectively. BJP’s Yediyurappa was first to stake the claim to form the government, but he failed to prove the majority after a high-pitch legal battle and submitted his resignation just before the trust vote in May 2018 paving way for the Congress-JD(S) coalition to form the government under the leadership of JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy.

But this government was also short-lived as it lasted for merely 14 months after several ruling party MLAs switched to BJP.

This paved the way for BJP, under ex-chief minister BS Yediyurappa to form the government. However, later he was forced to resign by the party, making way for the incumbent CM Bommai Basavaraj to take over the reins.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The campaign for the assembly polls in India’s southern Karnataka state has become increasingly contentious after the opposition Congress party accused a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of plotting to assassinate its president Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife and his entire family.

The campaign for the assembly polls in India’s southern Karnataka state has become increasingly contentious after the opposition Congress party accused a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of plotting to assassinate its president Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife and his entire family. The sensational charge was made by Congress member and party’s Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala during a press conference on Saturday. During the press briefing, he played an audio clip purportedly of Manikanta Rathod, the BJP candidate from Chittapur constituency in Kalaburagi district, where he can be heard saying in the Kannada language that he will "wipe out Kharge, his wife and children". “I am going to play for you an audio recording of an assassination plot to wipe out none less than the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife, and his entire family as being hatched by the BJP leaders. There can be nothing more serious than that.” He added that "the assassination plots have entered the electoral discourse of Karnataka and this was the lowest political discourse anyone can stoop to.” He claimed that BJP leaders are “intimidated by the all-round blessings of Kannadigas being showered on the Congress party”, and sensing “complete rout”, the BJP leaders a hatching a plot to eliminate Kharge and his family. BJP candidate Rathod, on the other hand, refuted the assassination allegations saying, “It is all a lie. They are playing some fake audio. The Congress is levelling baseless allegations fearing defeat,” reports PTI news agency. Reacting to the allegations, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said an investigation would be conducted to find out the authenticity of the recording. “I do not know about the audio. That will be investigated. We will take it seriously and get it investigated." Karnataka polls to begin on May 10 The state will go to polls on May 10. The election results will be declared on May 13. There are a total of 224 seats in Karnataka, the seventh-largest legislative assembly by strength. The majority mark is 112. The incumbent BJP is facing a massive anti-incumbency wave due to massive corruption charges, and public distrust towards the functioning of the government. What happened in the last election? The 2018 Karnataka assembly polls gave a hung assembly with BJP emerging as the single largest party. The saffron party won 104 seats while the coalition of Congress and JD (S) won 87 and 30 seats respectively. BJP’s Yediyurappa was first to stake the claim to form the government, but he failed to prove the majority after a high-pitch legal battle and submitted his resignation just before the trust vote in May 2018 paving way for the Congress-JD(S) coalition to form the government under the leadership of JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy. But this government was also short-lived as it lasted for merely 14 months after several ruling party MLAs switched to BJP. This paved the way for BJP, under ex-chief minister BS Yediyurappa to form the government. However, later he was forced to resign by the party, making way for the incumbent CM Bommai Basavaraj to take over the reins. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Karnataka polls: Congress accuses BJP of plotting to kill Mallikarjun Kharge, saffron party denies charge

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday visited Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the preparations for the upcoming legislative council polls in the state and meet the party's 'sulking' alliance partners.

The BJP national president, who took a day's off from the Karnataka assembly campaign, is understood to have taken a look at the names of probable party candidates for the legislative council polls.

The elections to the 13 seats will be held on April 26 with the ruling BJP being certain of winning at least 11 seats, going by its brute majority in the state legislative assembly.

Shah began his tour by garlanding the statue of Jyotibha Phule, sending a message that the saffron party did not want to keep the Dalits at an arms distance at a time when the Lok Sabha polls were barely a few months away.

"With party MPs Savitribai Phoole, Ashok Dohrey, Chhotelal, Yashwant Singh virtually raising a banner of revolt against Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath, Shah had a long discussion with the chief minister at the latter's 5 Kalidas Marg residence to assuage their hurt sentiments. The parliamentarians had written about their discontent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi," a senior party leader said.

UP deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, and state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey were also present during the discussion, he said.

The party leader said the Lok Sabha bypoll debacle of Gorakhpur and Phulpur also figured in the meeting.

The outburst of the four parliamentarians and another BJP MP Udit Raj came at a time when the country witnessed a public outcry against the Supreme Court's order on the SC/ST Act, which the Dalit leaders said was an attempt to "dilute" the law.

After facing strident criticism from the Opposition on Dalit issues, the BJP is also grappling with a rising voice of discontent among its own MPs belonging to the Scheduled Castes in Uttar Pradesh.

Lok Sabha members from Etawah and Nagina, Ashok Kumar Dohrey and Yashwant Singh respectively, are the latest to join their Dalit colleagues from the party to criticise the UP government.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dohrey had alleged that the Dalits and tribals across the country, especially in Uttar Pradesh, were being framed by the police in false cases after the protests, leading to growing insecurity among them.

Yashwant Singh, meanwhile, had reportedly said that nothing had been done for Dalits in the last four years.

Party insiders also said that the BJP's sulking ally, SBSP leader O P Rajbhar, who is also a cabinet minister, presented his case before Shah.

Rajbhar told PTI, "I raised the issue of quota within quota for the most backward classes. Apart from this, discrepancies pertaining to ration cards, housing, toilets, pensions and scholarship were also discussed.

Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has four MLAs in the state assembly. He had threatened to boycott last month's Rajya Sabha biennial election.

Apna Dal (Sonelal) leader Ashish Patel also met the BJP president.

"The meeting with the BJP chief was held in a very cordial atmosphere. We spoke for adequate representation of Dalits and backward classes at police stations and Tehsil offices, and we were told that our demands will be looked into," he said.

The BJP national president, who took a day's off from the Karnataka assembly campaign, is understood to have taken a look at the names of probable party candidates for the legislative council polls

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday visited Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the preparations for the upcoming legislative council polls in the state and meet the party's 'sulking' alliance partners. The BJP national president, who took a day's off from the Karnataka assembly campaign, is understood to have taken a look at the names of probable party candidates for the legislative council polls. The elections to the 13 seats will be held on April 26 with the ruling BJP being certain of winning at least 11 seats, going by its brute majority in the state legislative assembly. Shah began his tour by garlanding the statue of Jyotibha Phule, sending a message that the saffron party did not want to keep the Dalits at an arms distance at a time when the Lok Sabha polls were barely a few months away. "With party MPs Savitribai Phoole, Ashok Dohrey, Chhotelal, Yashwant Singh virtually raising a banner of revolt against Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath, Shah had a long discussion with the chief minister at the latter's 5 Kalidas Marg residence to assuage their hurt sentiments. The parliamentarians had written about their discontent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi," a senior party leader said. UP deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, and state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey were also present during the discussion, he said. The party leader said the Lok Sabha bypoll debacle of Gorakhpur and Phulpur also figured in the meeting. The outburst of the four parliamentarians and another BJP MP Udit Raj came at a time when the country witnessed a public outcry against the Supreme Court's order on the SC/ST Act, which the Dalit leaders said was an attempt to "dilute" the law. After facing strident criticism from the Opposition on Dalit issues, the BJP is also grappling with a rising voice of discontent among its own MPs belonging to the Scheduled Castes in Uttar Pradesh. Lok Sabha members from Etawah and Nagina, Ashok Kumar Dohrey and Yashwant Singh respectively, are the latest to join their Dalit colleagues from the party to criticise the UP government. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dohrey had alleged that the Dalits and tribals across the country, especially in Uttar Pradesh, were being framed by the police in false cases after the protests, leading to growing insecurity among them. Yashwant Singh, meanwhile, had reportedly said that nothing had been done for Dalits in the last four years. Party insiders also said that the BJP's sulking ally, SBSP leader O P Rajbhar, who is also a cabinet minister, presented his case before Shah. Rajbhar told PTI, "I raised the issue of quota within quota for the most backward classes. Apart from this, discrepancies pertaining to ration cards, housing, toilets, pensions and scholarship were also discussed. Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has four MLAs in the state assembly. He had threatened to boycott last month's Rajya Sabha biennial election. Apna Dal (Sonelal) leader Ashish Patel also met the BJP president. "The meeting with the BJP chief was held in a very cordial atmosphere. We spoke for adequate representation of Dalits and backward classes at police stations and Tehsil offices, and we were told that our demands will be looked into," he said.

Uttar Pradesh: Amit Shah meets BJP's 'sulking' alliance partners

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Karnataka polls: Congress accuses BJP of plotting to kill Mallikarjun Kharge, saffron party denies charge

Uttar Pradesh: Amit Shah meets BJP's 'sulking' alliance partners