BENGALURU: The Congress released its second list of 17 candidates for Lok Sabha elections from Karnataka on Thursday evening. As expected, the party selected AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani for Kalaburagi constituency.
Kharge, a Rajya Sabha member, had indicated that he would not contest the LS elections given his busy campaign schedule. Kharge was defeated in the 2019 LS elections in Kalaburagi constituency.
In Kodagu-Mysuru constituency, KPCC spokesman M Laxamana, a Vokkaliga, will face Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the royal family. Ministers’ kin, who have been chosen, are Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Soumya Reddy for Bengaluru South, Laxmi Hebbalkar’s son Mrinal Hebbalkar for Belagavi, Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi for Chikkodi, Shivananda Patil’s daughter Samyukta Patil for Bagalkot, Eshwar Khandre’s son Sagar Khandre for Bidar and SS Mallikarjun’s wife Prabha Mallikarjun for Davanagere.Sources said ministers, who have been asked to contest the LS elections, managed to get their kin selected as candidates, promising that they would get them elected. The party is likely to face a revolt in some constituencies.
Cong leaders yet to reach a consensus on Kolar
Bagalkot, Veena Kashappanavar, wife of Hungund MLA Vijayayanda Kashappanavar, showed signs of rebellion against Samyukta Patil, who is an “outsider”, soon after the list was released. Samyukta Patil hails from Vijayapura.Retired IAS officer Kumar Nayak will be fielded from Raichur.
Candidates for Kolar, Ballari, Chikkaballapur and Chamarajanagar constituencies have not been announced. The party leaders are yet to reach a consensus on Kolar as minister KH Muniyappa wants his son-in-law Chikkapeddappa to contest from there, while former speaker KR Ramesh Kumar is lobbying for former RS member Dr L Hanumanthaiah. In Chikkaballapur, there is a stiff competition between former chief minister M Veerappa Moily and Raksha Ramaiah.
Second list
Chandrappa (Chitradurga)
Mrinal Hebbalkar (Belagavi)
Priyanka Jarkiholi (Chikkodi)
Samyukta Patil (Bagalkot)
Vinod Asuti (Hubballi-Dharwad)
Prabha Mallikarjun (Davanagere)
Rajashekhar Itnal (Koppal)
Radhakrishna Doddamani (Kalaburagi)
Sagar Khandre (Bidar)
R Padmaraju (Dakshina Kannada)
K Jayaprakash Hegde
(Udupi-Chikmagalur)
Soumya Reddy (Bengaluru South)
Mansur Ali Khan (Bengaluru Central)
Prof Rajeev Gowda (Bengaluru North)
M Lakshmana (Kodagu-Mysuru)
Kumar Nayak (Raichur)
Dr Anjali Nimbalkar (Uttara Kannada)