MANGALURU  FRIDAY  MARCH 06, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 16  CITY EDITION 85% OF FY25 DONATIONS WENT TO RULING BJP BJP INC CPI(M) BSP AAP `7,960 CRORE INCOME OF NATIONAL PARTIES `6,769.1498 cr ■ `918.2865 cr BJP GOT `6,769 CR IN DONATIONS `172.603 cr `58.5887 cr `39.2813 cr BJP declared a total income of `6,769.14 cr during FY 2024–25 and spent 55.76% of it, amounting to `3,774.58 cr. The INC’s total income was `918.28 cr, while its expenditure for the year was `1,111.94 cr, as per an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms Collection by Issuing coupons of `350.12 cr declared by INC form 38.12% of its income; while BSP reported 100% of its income (`58.5 cr) from other sources BJP showed the highest income amongst national parties. This forms 85.039% of the total income of 6 National Parties during FY 2024-25 ■ INC declared the second highest income of `918.28 cr which forms 11.536% of the total income of the 6 national parties ■ In FY 2024-25, national parties declared a total income of `7,960 crore, of which 85.08% (`6,772.53 cr) came from donations/ contributions and 14.92% (`1,187.569 cr) from other sources BSP’S OTHER SOURCES `3,335cr WAS THE MAXIMUM EXPENDITURE FOR THE BJP TOWARDS ELECTION/GENERAL PROPAGANDA IN FY 2024-25, AS PER THE ADR ANALYSIS CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI R N Ravi new gov Speculation over, Nitish files Rajya Sabha papers Search for Nitish of West Bengal successor in BJP as Bose resigns R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna Major shake-up of gubernatorial positions; Arlekar to discharge functions of TN guv S U B H E N D U M A I T I A N D F AYA Z W A N I @ Kolkata/Srinagar BARELY two months before the West Bengal government’s tenure is due to end on May 7, Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday abruptly put in his papers, drawing concern from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and speculation on the imposition of President’s rule in the state. He will be replaced by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi. “The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union home minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State assembly elections,” Mamata wrote on X. She came down heavily on the Centre for naming Ravi as the successor. “The Union home minister has only informed me about appointing R N Ravi as the Governor but didn’t discuss the issue with me as per convention,” Mamata alleged. Parallelly, Kavinder Gupta resigned as Lt Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh, just eight months after taking charge. The ruling Trinamool Congress fears the Centre could impose President’s rule amidst intense rumblings over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls because of deletions of over 60 lakh voters in the final rolls and placing 60 lakh more in the ‘under adjudication’ category . However, the BJP leadership denied the TMC charges. Economist and BJP MLA Ashok Lahiri, told this newspaper, “BJP has no interest in imposition of 356 in Bengal. We want elections to be held in time after completions of the proper voters list following the SIR exercise.” Bose served for three-and-a-half years as Governor before tendering his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, who is due to visit Bengal for two days from Friday Murmu . has accepted his resignation, sources said. Bose was quoted by a news agency as saying that he had spent enough time in office and did not want to continue any longer. He, however, refused to elaborate. His tenure was scheduled to end in November 2027. Bose had major differences with the Mamata Banerjee government on various issues, including bills and the appointment of vice chancellors, but overall he was not abrasive. That may not be the case with his Ravi, whose run-ins with the M K Stalin government spawned a whole gamut of legal challenges that went right up to the Supreme Court. As for Ladakh, its new Lt Governor is Vinai Kumar Saxena, Lt Governor of Delhi. He replaces Kavinder Gupta, who has been appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh. EXPRESS READ Rupee recovers 55p to close at 91.60 a dollar Mumbai: The rupee on Thursday recovered 55 paise, or 0.5%, to close at 91.60 per dollar, snapping a five-day losing streak. The currency had hit an all-time low of 92.15 per dollar on Wednesday. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 92.16 against the previous close of 92.15, but soon regained lost ground, rising to 91.30 before closing at 91.60 (provisional) | P13 AP to offer `25,000 incentive for 3rd child Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said the state government may offer `25,000 birth incentive for couples having a third child or more to boost the falling birth rate. The government aims to raise the state’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) to 2.1 from the current 1.5, he said. The state’s TFR has declined to 1.5, compared to 3.0 in 1993. CV Ananda Bose Appointment of new guvs Shiv Pratap Shukla, Governor of Himachal Pradesh appointed Governor of Telangana Jishnu Dev Varma, Governor of Telangana appointed Governor of Maharashtra Nand Kishore Yadav appointed as Governor of Nagaland Lt General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain appointed Governor of Bihar R N Ravi, Governor of Tamil Nadu appointed Governor of West Bengal Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Kerala to discharge the functions of Governor of Tamil Nadu Kavinder Gupta, Lt. Governor of Ladakh, appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh Vinai Kumar Saxena, Lt. Governor of Delhi appointed Lt. Governor of Ladakh Taranjit Singh Sandhu appointed as Lt. Governor of Delhi THREE-and-a-half months after being sworn-in as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar on Thursday filed his nomination papers for Rajya Sabha, marking his return to national politics after two decades. The move also paves the way for a new government in the state, likely to be led by BJP . Along with Nitish, BJP national president Nitin Nabin also filed papers for the Upper House. From Bihar, three others from the alliance filed nomination papers—former BJP MLA Shivesh Kumar, JD(U) BJP national president Nitin Nabin files his Rajya Sabha nomijnation papers in Patna on Thursday in the presence of Amit Shah and Nitish Kumar (seated) nominee and Union minister of state for agriculture Ram Nath Thakur, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Ku s h w a h a . T h a k u r a n d Kushwaha are sitting RS MPs. Desist from attacks, EU, Gulf states tell Iran A G E N C I E S @ Tel Aviv, Tehran IRAN launched a fresh wave of attacks against Israel, US bases and countries around the region Thursday, while warning that the US would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship. Tehran’s expanding retaliatory strikes came even as Israel and the US hammered Iran for a sixth day . The war has escalated, affecting an additional 14 countries across West Asia and beyond. Israel issued a mass evacuation warning for all of Beirut’s southern suburbs as the fighting escalated with Lebanon’s Iran-allied Hezbollah militants. UN peacekeepers reported g round combat in southern Lebanon as more Israeli troops crossed the border. All the while, the US and Israel battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme. Iran continued to pummel Gulf monarchies allied to the US-Israel axis. Iran claimed it hit Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with Khorramshahr-4 missiles, while Israel denied it, saying the airport is open. Bahrain said on Thursday a facility in its oil infrastructure was attacked. Residents in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi reported hearing a series of loud explosions on Thursday, with UAE air defences responding to a missile threat. Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In the UAE, a drone was shot down near the Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts US forces, and shrapnel fell to the ground, authorities said. Six people were wounded. Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones — though Tehran denied it. Qatar evacuated residents near the US Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution and later reported a missile attack on the city Saudi Arabia said it . destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan. Sirens were sounded in Bahrain Thursday, while the country’s Defense Ministry said its forces had intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles and 124 drones since the start of the war on Saturday . Abu Dhabi residents said they heard numerous heavy explosions. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three cruise missiles apart from drones. Spain is planning to send a frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike there. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 100 in Lebanon, around a dozen in Israel and six US troops. EU and Gulf ministers called upon Iran to immediately end “indiscriminate” attacks across the region in retaliation for USIsraeli attacks, warning global security was at stake. “The ministers strongly condemned the Iranian attacks which threaten regional and global seP12 curity .” Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. He is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace. I have to be involved in appointment, We strongly condemn the unjustifiable Iranian attacks against GCC countries that hamper regional peace... we call on Iran to cease immediately its attacks President Donald Trump EU and Gulf ministers’ joint statement Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri meets Ambassador of Iran Mohammad Fathali | PTI India condoles Ali’s death J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi INDIA on Thursday condoled the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book “on behalf of the people and the Government of India” at the Embassy of Iran in New Delhi. Misri visited the embassy and conveyed India’s message of sympathy to Iran’s Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali, marking India’s first official gesture following Khamenei’s killing in a joint strike by the US and Israel on February 28. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Misri signed the condolence book “on behalf of the people and the Government of India on the demise of the Iranian leader”. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also spoke with Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday amid the escalating crisis. Both leaders learnt to have discussed the evolving situation in the region, and safety of Indian nationals. CM to present 17th budget today, focus on fiscal health D E V A R A J B H I R E H A L L I @ Bengaluru CHIEF Minister Siddaramaiah will present his record 17th budget for the fiscal year 202627 on Friday, limiting borrowings and keeping the total liabilities at 25 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), as mandated by the Karnataka Fiscal Re s p o n s i b i l i t y A c t (KFRA) 2002. Siddaramaiah, who holds the Finance portfolio, broke the record of late D Devaraj Urs as the state’s longest serving CM. With expectations of huge revenue expenditure, the CM is likely to present a revenue-deficit budget, but a realistic one in terms of revenue collection, for the second consecutive year. The shortfall for 2025-26 was Rs 18,000 crore. For 2025-26, the GSDP was projected at Rs 30,70,103crore (Budget Estimate) with total li- Their tenure ends on April 9. Nitish said that from the beginning of his parliamentary journey he wanted to become a , member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament. “In view of my aspiration, I seek to become a member of Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time,” he posted on X, adding that the new government will have his guidance. The veteran leader’s sudden move left JD(U) workers stunned, who blamed the party’s national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Union Minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh for the decision. abilities at Rs 7,64,655cr, which was 24.91% of the GSDP, and borrowing at Rs 1.16 lakh crore. This time, with GSDP projected at about Rs 34,38,000cr, he is likely to create room for borrowings of over Rs 1.25 lakh crore, and managing total liabilities at 24.98% of the GSDP, according to sources. “Managing liabilities of anything less than 25 per cent is not alarming for fiscal health, provided it means quality expenditure, especially on education and health,” suggested noted economist Prof M Govindarao. The High Power Committee for Redressal of Regional Imbalances in Karnataka recommended a sum of Rs 43,914cr to address developmental disparities over the next five years (2026-27 to 2031-32). It is to be seen whether the recommendations reflect in the budget. P4 Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar on Thursday offered to step down from the CM’s post and move to the Rajya Sabha, triggering a high-stakes search for his successor, with BJP leaders like Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, Nityanand Rai and Dilip Jaiswal, and even a possible young woman leader under consideration. Sources said the BJP, in alliance with JD(U), will choose its own leader for the top post for the first time in Bihar | P10 SEARCH ON Sukhoi 30 fighter jet goes missing in Assam J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi AN Indian Air Force (IAF) Su30 MKI fighter aircraft lost contact after taking off from Jorhat in Assam on Thursday evening, with the last communication recorded at 7.42 pm. “An IAF Su-30 MKI is reported overdue. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat, Assam and was last in contact at 7.42 pm. “Further details are being ascertained. Search and Rescue mission has been initiated,” Defence PRO Lt Col Mahender Rawat said in a statement in the evening. He further said that search and rescue operations have been initiated to ascertain the status of the fighter jet. In aviation terms, an aircraft is considered “overdue” when it fails to report or make contact at the expected time after a flight or communication check. The status of the aircraft and its pilot is not yet known. Meanwhile, another official said some locals from Chokihola area in Bokajan sub-division have claimed that a plane may have crashed inside a forested area. “We are preparing a team to send and verify it. We cannot confirm anything at this moment,” he added. More details are awaited. Gadag villagers flock to Goa, Kerala for livelihood R A G H O T TA M K O P PA R @ G a d a g BLISTERING BLUES IN FINAL India beat England by 7 runs in a high-scoring semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. India will meet New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday | DEBADATTA MULLICK | P15 VOTING IN NEPAL CONCLUDES PEACEFULLY Nepalese voted on Thursday in the first general elections since violent Gen Z protests toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government. Voter turnout was pegged at 60% WITH the onset of summer and agriculture-related jobs becoming infrequent, many farm labourers from Gadag are now relocating to Kerala and Goa in search of livelihood. In Gadag district, a large percentage of rural area is dependent on rain-fed agriculture. With the break in crop cycle, many people in rural areas who used to work as daily wagers are unemployed now. Many people from Gadag, Mundargi, Ron, Lakshmeshewar and Shirahatti taluk are angling for odd jobs at the beaches of Goa and Kerala. The presence of many Gadag villagers who have already settled there is an added inducement. Villages such as Paapanashi, Kabalayatkatti, Adavi Somapur and Attikatti wear a deserted look these days. The elders from these villages have shifted to nearby towns and cities for Locked houses have become common in a few villages in Gadag district | EXPRESS their grandchildren’s examinations and other family members have moved to Kerala and Goa for employment and business opportunities. Raviraj Doddamani, a resident of Kabalayatkatti, said, “Many youngsters, women and the middle-aged men are moving to cities and some to neighbouring states. They will earn a good income in these two to three months and come back home and work for less income but enjoy with all the relatives till next March.”