Description
The first list includes the main heads of state and the majority of sitting deputies. Congress announced its first list of candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections today, with former Prime Minister Siddaramaiah and state party leader DK Shivakumar both reportedly aiming for the top post if the party were elected to the can. The big old party released 124 names for the total of 224 constituencies on the first list. While DK Shivakumar is running again in the Kanakapura constituency, Siddaramaiah secured Varuna in Mysuru, currently represented by his son Yathindra Siddaramaiah. The former prime minister, however, expected to compete with Kolar and had prepared the ground for months. In his official bid for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in February, Siddaramaiah listed Badami, Varuna and Kolar as the three constituencies he would choose from. Badami and Kolar are not listed on the first list, which is surprising for the game plan of the match, as Siddaramaiah planned to run from two seats, like last time. Sources say it's unlikely he'll get Kolar as local reports suggest he might not win from there.
The first list includes the main heads of state and the majority of sitting deputies. Interestingly, 91-year-old Shamanuru Shivashankarappa managed to secure a Davanagere South ticket. Meanwhile, veteran party leader and Kolar MP KH Muniyappa secured a Devanahalli Assembly constituency ballot.
Meanwhile, as Karnataka prepares for the May elections, the cabinet of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today took a crucial decision by cutting the four percent reserve as part of the OBC quota for Muslims, to accommodate the two percent for the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, the two main communities that determine the results of the polls for the BJP.
Muslims will now be housed in the economically weakest 10% section category, which includes all other groups.
The Vokkaliga, which had a 4% reserve, will now get 6%, and the Lingayats, which had a 5% reserve, will now get 7%.
The party's central election committee, chaired by its leader Mallikarjun Kharge, approved the first list of candidates after a meeting in Delhi on March 17. Rahul Gandhi was also present at the meeting. The electoral commission has yet to announce the timing of general elections in the southern state, where Congress seeks to oust the ruling BJP.
