
BENGALURU: Miffed with their party and the state government ignoring them, the Congress candidates who lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls held a meeting under the leadership of former Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, the younger brother of DCM and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, at a hotel here on Friday.
Ahead of the next cabinet meeting likely on January 30, the delegation will meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. They deliberated on the issue of their consent not being taken on certain decisions, including development works and the transfer of officials in their respective constituencies.
“We are not being given the needed importance, compared to the defeated candidates of the assembly polls. Even as we polled double the votes in the respective Assembly constituencies, as against the defeated Assembly poll candidates, we are being ignored. Our letterheads are not being considered, whereas the defeated Assembly poll candidates are given prominence,” rued a former MP, who lost the 2024 LS polls.
“We are not being considered for the effective organisation of the party. We are not asking for any post, or any status, including appointment to boards and corporations. We only want priority in the party’s affairs. We will also bring the issue to the attention of the CM and DCM,” Mysuru candidate M Lakshmana said.
“Whoever was defeated, they should be taken into confidence to organise the party at the constituency level. We have discussed what our role is in local and state elections and also taking everyone into confidence in view of the party’s growth. We are going to meet the CM and DCM and submit our request. We are going to work on their directions.
The government is ours, we should be with the people and should take everyone along,” said Suresh. The defeated candidates, including Mrinal Hebbalkar, Samyukta Patil, Star Chandru, SP Muddahanume Gowda, Prof Rajeev Gowda, Mansoor Ali Khan, K Jayaprakash Hegde, and Raju Alaguru, among others, were present.