Children of Ministers, relatives dominate Congress list of candidates
The Hindu
Congress announces 17 Lok Sabha candidates in Karnataka, including children of Ministers and senior leaders.
Children, relatives and loyalists of Ministers and senior State Congress leaders figured prominently in the second list of 17 Lok Sabha poll candidates of Karnataka that was announced by the the party on Thursday.
The Congress’ Central Election Committee cleared ticket to children of five State Cabinet Ministers and they are: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Sowmya Reddy (Bengaluru South), Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi (Chikkodi), Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s son Mrinal Hebbalkar (Belagavi), Agricultural Marketing Minister Shivanand Patil’s daughter Samyukta (Bagalkot), and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s son Sagar Khandre (Bidar). None of the Ministers have entered the fray so far, and ticket has been given only to their children.
In Kalaburagi, which is All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president M. Mallikarjun Kharge’s turf, his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani will be the candidate. Mr. Kharge lost to Umesh Jadhav of the BJP in 2019.
For Davangere, the Congress has decided to field veteran party leader and Veerashaiva-Lingayat strongman Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s daughter-in-law Prabha Mallikarjun. Her husband S.S. Mallikarjun is the Minister for Mines and Geology in the Siddaramaiah government.
Former IIM-Bangalore professor M.V. Rajeev Gowda, who was earlier a Rajya Sabha member, got the Bengaluru North ticket. Mr. Gowda is the son of former Legislative Assembly Speaker M.V. Venkatappa. Currently, he is the Vice-Chairperson of the State Institute for the Transformation of Karnataka (SITK). He would contest against Union Minister for State Shobha Karandlaje of the BJP.
Ms. Sowmya Reddy would take on incumbent MP Tejaswi Surya (BJP) in Bengaluru South. The Congress has not won this seat since 1991. In Bengaluru Central, the Congress has given ticket to Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson K. Rahman Khan. He will be contesting against P.C. Mohan of the BJP.
In the prestigious Mysuru constituency, the party fielded its KPCC spokesperson M. Laxmana, who belongs to the Vokkaliga community. He would fight the electoral battle against scion of the erstwhile royal family of Mysore Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
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