BENGALURU: Almost all among the 123 sitting Congress MLAs are set to get tickets to contest the forthcoming assembly election as the Congress Election Committee, which met here on Wednesday, prepared a draft list of candidates for the polls.
The committee, which had a marathon brainstorming meeting at a luxury resort near KIA to finalise prospective candidates for the election, pored over 1,570 applications it had received for the 224 assembly constituencies. The committee is said to have decided to recommend fielding almost all sitting MLAs as part of a strategy to avoid rebellion and internal sabotage ahead of the polls.
“The deliberations on Wednesday were focussed on 90 seats where Congress had lost in the last election. A meeting will be held on March 26 to discuss about the sitting MLAs. Tickets will be given based on the principle of social justice,” KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said.
“Winnability is the only criterion for distribution of tickets. The meeting did not discuss about sitting Congress MLAs or JD(S) rebel MLAs,” said KPCC Campaign Committee chairman D K Shivakumar.
The committee completed the first level of screening of candidates and finalised a list of two to three “winnable” candidates for each constituency taking into account various factors. “The AICC Screening Committee will decide on the fate of aspirants if they are facing serious charges and those considered as tainted,” Dinesh Gudu Rao said.
The stress on winnability has come as a big relief for many senior leaders as it has brightened the prospects of getting the ticket for their sons and daughters.
KPCC president G Parameshwara, who had advocated the one-family-one-ticket principle a couple of months ago, had to face opposition to it from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself. Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said there was no discussion on denying ticket to any incumbent MLA.
SIDDU FROM CHAMUNDESHWARI
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wish to contest from Chamundeshwari constituency leaving his Varuna seat for his son Dr Yatheendra has been approved. PWD minister H D Mahade vappa’s wish to shift to CV Raman Nagar constituency from T Narasipur is unlikely to fructify as his name has been recom mended for T Narasipur with his son Sunil Bose. The draft list will be forwarded to the AICC Screening Committee.
CONVENERS FOR EACH DIVISION
KPCC has appointed heads for each revenue division to help the party finalise the candidates. The heads will help the party in fine-tuning the poll strategy in their respective divisions. Energy Minister Shivakumar has been appointed the head of Bengaluru division.