From The Newsroom: BJP emerges as corporate favourite; Dinesh Karthik steps down as KKR captain

In your evening news brief, From the Newsroom, The BJP appears to be the favourite for corporates when it comes to donations, with the party bagging 82.3% or over Rs 2,300 crore given to national parties in seven years; Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad tested positive for coronavirus. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik stepped down as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, handing over the reins to his English deputy Eoin Morgan.

Here are the top stories of the day, October 16, 2020:

The BJP appears to be the favourite for corporates when it comes to donations, with the party bagging 82.3% or over Rs 2,300 crore given to national parties in seven years between 2012-13 and 2018-19.

In contrast, Congress received only Rs 376 crore during these seven years while other national parties got much lesser.

The analysis by private election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) showed that BJP had pipped the Congress in attracting corporate donations even when it was not in power at the Centre.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad tested positive for coronavirus.

"I have tested positive for Covid-19. I am in home quarantine. Those who came in contact with me in the last few days may kindly follow the protocol," he tweeted.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik stepped down as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, handing over the reins to his English deputy Eoin Morgan hours before the IPL match against Mumbai Indians here.

Karthik told the KKR management that he wants to "focus on his batting and contributing more to the team's cause." Appointed skipper in 2018, the 35-year-old led KKR in 37 matches.

Midway into the ongoing season, KKR find themselves at fourth place in the points table with four wins and three losses. Morgan was widely tipped to take over at some point from Karthik given the topsy-turvy run.

Do listen to our IPL podcast from this morning, link will be available in the shownotes.

Defending holding public events during the coronavirus pandemic, US President Donald Trump, who tested positive for Covid-19 early this month, has said that as a president he cannot remain locked in a basement and he has to meet people despite the risks.

Trump, responding to a question at a townhall organised by the NBC News, also defended not wearing a mask as much as his own administration’s public health experts recommend and said that lockdowns imposed by various states across the country to curb the coronavirus cases were "unconstitutional".