LAST week, further developments exposed the governance of the BJP government, including a new case of corruption by an MLA. A video surfaced showing a bribe being given to an aide of the MLA for clearance of a tender. In Mandya district, a gang of self-proclaimed "cow-protection" vigilantes brutally killed Idris Pasha, a driver of a vehicle transporting cattle. Some aspects of the case suggest that it is part of the BJP's communal polarisation attempts.

THE election schedule for 224 seats of the state assembly in Karnataka with an electorate of 5.2 crores was announced on March 29. Elections will be held in a single phase on May 10 and the results will be announced on May 13. The last day for nominations is April 20. Over 58,282 polling stations will be set up with 34,219 being in rural areas and 1,320 women only booths.Before the election schedule announcement, inauguration spree continued in the last week with Prime Minister Modi visiting Karnataka for the third time in election campaign cum official visit.

 THE Assam state committee of the CPI (M), on March 27, has submitted a memorandum to the chief election commissioner and other members of the ECI who are on a visit to the state in connection with the proposed delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Assam.The five member CPI(M) delegation comprising state secretary Suprakash Talukdar, Central Committee member Isfaqur Rahman, Party MLA Manoranjan Talukdar, state secretariat members Ajit Das and Nayan Bhuyan submitted the memorandum, raising concerns regarding the delimitation of constituencies in the state of Assam.

WITH public anger against authoritarianism, corruption and criminalisation steadily on the rise, Bengal is witnessing a chain of mass movements drawing all sections of the people against the TMC misrule across the state. The historic success of the March 10 strike of the state employees and teachers has surely generated new hopes and confidence amongst the participants and the people at large.

KARNATAKA is just days away from the formal announcement of the assembly election schedule; hence the inauguration/announcement spree of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It started with the inauguration of the 10-lane (really six lanes!)  Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and a series of controversies and setbacks. As the inauguration was hurried even before the work was really completed, only one side of the highway was finished and next day many cracks were seen at many places, showing the ruling party in poor light rather than as a shining example of grand achievement.