BENGALURU: The victory in Hanagal and a fairly good show at Sindagi in the recently held bypolls have given traction to many Congress leaders to push their children into electoral politics during the 2023 Assembly polls.
Already, disgruntled JDS MLA GT Devegowda, who has hinted that he would join Congress, has been cozying up to his nemesis-turned-ally Congress Legislature Party leader Siddarmaiah with the aim of finding an electoral battleground for his son GD Harish Gowda and furthering his own career.
Devegowda and Siddaramaiah shared the dais at a recent event, which is a clear enough indication of Devegowda’s willingness to join the Grand Old Party, well ahead of the Assembly polls, political observers noted. Devegowda is miffed that he was snubbed by JDS when he sought a ticket for Harish from the KR Nagar constituency, which is represented by its veteran leader Sa Ra Mahesh.
Former minister TB Jayachandra too is said to be keen on finding a seat for his elder son Sanjay after his younger son Santosh lost the CN Halli seat in Tumakuru district in 2018. Congress leader KN Rajanna also wants a ticket for his son Rajendra from Tumakuru in the Legislative Council elections that were announced on Tuesday, party sources said.
Jayachandra and Rajanna, who are part of the coterie around Siddarmaiah, depend on the Congress Legislature Party leader to find a political future for their children. With BJP restricting its members who have crossed 75 years of age from contesting elections and stopping them from promoting their family members, many leaders are expected to cross over to Congress ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls, observed political analyst Sagheer Ahmed. Asked whether it is in Congress culture to establish their children politically, a senior leader said that the question should be posed to KPCC president DK Shivakumar.