Congress may refuse two seats to its top leaders

Bengaluru, April 6: Veteran Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s hope to contest from Kolar seat in the upcoming Assembly election is likely to be dashed as the party high command, as of now, has no plans to field him from two constituencies, sources in the Congress said. The reason, they said, was to send a message through the party ranks that every seat is important and every party worker equal.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate for Kolar. The first list of candidates announced by the party in March allotted the Varuna Assembly segment to Siddaramaiah. Against this backdrop, a decision to not field Siddaramaiah from his preferred seat would be seen as a snub to the veteran leader.

Siddaramaiah’s contention is that, The leaders and workers of the Congress party from Kolar district, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru rural are requesting me to contest from Kolar. They think that if he contest from Kolar, it will help more than 20 constituencies around Kolar.

According to sources, the high command’s decision to not field Siddaramaiah from another seat followed another leader’s demand to contest from two constituencies. Dr G Parameshwara, a former Deputy Chief Minister, has been fielded in Koratgere seat in Tumkur district.
Sources said he also wanted to contest from Pulikeshinagar in the city, but the party refused. The senior leader, it is learnt, then questioned why Siddaramaiah should get to contest from two seats.

Among the toughest challenges the Congress high command faces in the upcoming election is to contain the infighting among its state leaders and ensure it does not derail its campaign in Karnataka. The party has repeatedly tried to show a united front in its balancing act with top state leaders Siddaramaiah and state party chief DK Shivakumar, both aspirants for the Chief Minister post. The two leaders, too, have stressed that they are united in the party’s fight for a win.
The Congress is desperate to register a win in the southern state, where the incumbent BJP is on a backfoot owing to a leadership vacuum and corruption charges.

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