Over 1,000 Cong ticket aspirants in 224 seats; Siddu, Param finalizing candidates

coastaldigest.com news network

April 8, 2018

Bengaluru, Apr 8: In order to avoid any kind of rebellion by ticket aspirants, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara are jointly finalizing the list of candidates for May 12 assembly polls. The final list will be soon forwarded to New Delhi just for a formal approval.

According to reports the Congress had asked Siddaramaiah and Parameshwara to finalise tickets for all the seats in consultation with AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal and screening committee chairman Madhusudhan Mistry.

"The state unit has been told to send one name for each Assembly segment and the high command will approve it," said a leader from the party, adding that "whatever the dispute over the distributions of tickets, it should be solved at the state level itself."

Though more than 1,000 aspirants have applied for tickets in 224 Assembly segments, all the sitting Congress legislators and MLAs who migrated from other parties are likely to get the ticket. For the remaning seats, around 90, Siddaramaiah and Parameshwara will finalise the candidates, including children of some senior party leaders, said the leader.

The screening committee, headed by Mistry, is scheduled to meet in New Delhi on April 9 and 10 and send the list for final approval for the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party. The CEC is likely to meet on April 11 or 12 to give its final approval. Though April 24 is the last date for filing nominations, most of the tickets will be finalised in second week of April. Candidates for the remaining seats may be announced in third week, he said.

Since the Congress left the seat selection to the state units in Gujarat and Punjab during the Assembly elections there, the party wants to follow the same norm in Karnataka too.

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Vokkaligara Sangha threatens Congress: ‘Shivakumar must be CM or face backlash’

News Network

November 27,2025

Bengaluru: The Vokkaligara Sangha on Thursday issued a stern warning to the Congress, saying the party could face serious electoral repercussions if Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is not appointed as Chief Minister.

The warning follows the public backing of Shivakumar’s chief ministerial ambition by top Vokkaliga pontiff Nirmalanandanatha Swami, who urged the Congress high command to honor his claim.

“The community supported Congress in the 2023 Assembly elections only because Shivakumar had a real chance to become CM. If he is cheated, we’ll teach the party a big lesson,” said newly elected Sangha president L. Srinivas. He added that Vokkaligas would organize protests under the guidance of community leaders.

General Secretary C.G. Gangadhar pointed out that Congress won more seats in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region due to Shivakumar’s influence, adding, “If Congress wants to retain power, Shivakumar should be made the CM.”

Outgoing president Kenchappa Gowda emphasized Shivakumar’s contribution to Congress’ victory. “Our community voted for Congress thinking he would become CM. Siddaramaiah has also served the party well, but Shivakumar should now be given a chance,” he said.

Former general-secretary Konappa Reddy appealed to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to recognize Shivakumar’s loyalty and service, saying, “Congress is known to keep its promises. We hope it won’t break the promise made to him.”

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