Poll watch: Law and order failure in state says BJP after Justice Shetty's stabbing and more updates

Assembly polls in Karnataka are just months away, and the current Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state will finish its full term of five years on May 28 – a feat no party has managed since 1985. But will the Congress manage to fight anti-incumbency in the one of the few states it governs in India following the Modi wave? Will the Yeddyurappa-led BJP pull off a win in the state under Amit Shah’s watchful eye? And will HD Kumaraswamy’s JD(S) get to a position where they can play kingmaker in Karnataka once again?

In the run up to the biggest election of 2018, TNM brings you Poll Watch every Monday and Thursday. It will be your one stop shop for all the updates on the campaigns, manifestos, and politicking ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.

Here are this week’s updates:

• The Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Vishwanath Shetty getting stabbed in his office by a visitor, the opposition has yet again cornered the ruling Congress alleging law and order failure in the state.
• Former Deputy CM, BJP’s R Ashoka criticised the government for allowing 'Goonda Raj' under its watch as the security arrangements in the Lokayukta office were defunct. He also called for President’s rule in the state.
• JD(S) supremo, HD Deve Gowda also attacked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “The Congress government killed the Lokayukta as an institution and now the Justice himself was attacked under his (CM’s) watch,” Deve Gowda said.
• Addressing a rally in Mangaluru, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath called for a “Congress-free” Karnataka stating that the state had gained nothing from the Congress rule in the last five years.
• Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, KS Eshwarappa announced that if he BJP is voted to power in 2018, the new government would first ban cow slaughter.
• Similarly, Home Minister and Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy also joined the anti-cow slaughter band wagon and said that “animals are creations of God” and that “they cannot be killed”. “None of us have the right to kill animals, which are the creation of god. All of us worship cows and should not be slaughtered. Personally I object to killing of any animals,” Reddy had said.
• On Tuesday, Real Star Upendra, who was the founding member of the Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha (KPJP) quit his own party due to severe infighting.
• Upendra alleged that the party’s General Secretary Mahesh Gowda had sidelined the chosen candidates to contest elections and favoured offering tickets to those who were willing to pay money.
• On Monday, controversial businessman-turned politician, Ashok Kheny was inducted into the Congress.
• Ashok Kheny, who was responsible for the construction of NICE Road around Bengaluru, was accused of usurping farmer lands to convert them into villas. This drew strong reactions from the opposition with BS Yeddyurappa calling the Congress anti-farmer.