D.K. Ravi’s wife front runner for Congress ticket
Amid speculation over H. Kusuma, wife of the deceased IAS officer D.K. Ravi, trying her luck with Congress ticket to contest from Rajarajeshwari Nagar, the party high command is set to decide on the candidates for the two Assembly constituencies going into bypolls.
“We have had several rounds on discussions on who the party’s candidates should be in the two Assembly constituencies. We are sending the list of probable candidates to the high command today. The national leaders will decide,” Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar said on Sunday, as Ms. Kusuma and several local leaders from Sira constituency joined the Congress.
Ms. Kusuma is the daughter of Janata Dal (S) leader Hanumantharayappa, who also joined the Congress on Sunday, and is learnt to be keen on contesting from R.R. Nagar, which has a sizeable number of Vokkaliga voters.
The Congress State unit has backed six-time legislator and former Minister T.B. Jayachandra to contest for the Sira seat, which has now fallen vacant following the death of JD(S) legislator B. Satyanarayana. Party sources said that while only Mr. Jayachandra’s name has been sent for Sira, three names, including that of Ms. Kusuma, has been proposed for R.R. Nagar. The other two potential candidates are former legislator from Magadi Balakrishna and Raksha Ramaiah. “Ms. Kusuma is most likely to get ticket,” a source said.
“The entire State is waiting for the decision of the Sira voters,” Mr. Shivakumar remarked, adding that the Congress leadership was fully behind Mr. Jayachandra.
The Congress on Sunday distributed B-forms to its nominees in the Legislative Council elections. Mr. Shivakumar distributed the forms to R.M. Kuberappa (West Graduates), sitting member Sharanappa Mattur (North East Teachers), and Praveen Peter (Bengaluru Teachers).
Is R.R. Nagar proving tricky for BJP?
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s choice of candidate for Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency has kept everyone guessing even as the party is expected to announce its candidates for the two constituencies going to bypolls either on Monday or Tuesday.
While it is speculated that Rajesh Gowda, son of former Congress MP Mudalagiriyappa, could finally bag the party’s ticket for Sira, it is the choice of candidate for R.R. Nagar that has kept everyone on tenterhooks. The R.R. Nagar byelection has been necessitated by the resignation of Congress legislator Munirathna, who was among the 17 Congress and JD(S) legislators to resign and cause the fall of the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition. There is quite a bit of resistance within the party to giving Mr. Munirathna the ticket, party sources said.
Sources said that the choice of candidate had become tricky because of the feud between Mr. Munirathna and Tulsi Muniraju Gowda, who could end up playing against each to ensure the other’s defeat, potentially costing the party the seat.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Tourism Minister C.T. Ravi said that there was no confusion in the party over the choice of candidate, but acknowledged that there were many aspirants for the ticket. “No State leader, including the Chief Minister, has announced the name of the candidates so far. The BJP is stronger in R.R. Nagar. Even when D.K. Suresh was candidate, the BJP got more votes. We will win both constituencies,” he said, adding that he did not wish to comment on the possible candidature of H. Kusuma, wife of the deceased IAS officer D.K. Ravi.
A problem of plenty for JD(S) in Sira
The Janata Dal (Secular) is under pressure to retain the Sira Assembly seat after its legislator B. Satyanarayana passed away recently, but the party is faced with a problem of plenty with several candidates wishing to contest. This has delayed the selection of a candidate. The former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had, last Thursday, announced that the party would declare its candidates for the two Assembly segments which are set to see byelections.
While the JD(S) is keen to give ticket to the widow of the deceased, the late legislator’s son Satyaprakash is learnt to be keen to contest. Before the election was declared, the JD(S) had said that the first priority in ticket distribution was to the family of the late Satyanarayana. However, when Mr. Kumaraswamy spoke at a public rally a day after the election schedule was announced, he was non-committal to the family.
However, on Sunday, Tumakuru Rural legislator D.C. Gowrishankar is learnt to have met the party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda to request ticket for his brother. Party sources said there were at least three serious contenders from the grassroots level in Sira, and they could emerge spoilsport for the party. Sunday also witnessed a large number of JD(S) workers from Sira joining the Congress, now helmed in the State by Vokkaliga leader D.K. Shivakumar.
Sources said the JD(S) was currently faced with not only problems related to the choice of candidates, but also other issues such as finances to meet the bypoll costs. The party’s R.R. Nagar candidate is also yet to be announced, sources said.
