Karnataka assembly polls: In run-up to polls, eyes on kin of Congress leaders seeking tickets
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. (Express photo by Anil Sharma) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. (Express photo by Anil Sharma)
With the children of more than a dozen senior Congress leaders in Karnataka, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, aspiring to contest the forthcoming Assembly elections, all eyes are on how the Congress central leadership will handle the issue under new party president Rahul Gandhi.
Frequently accused by political rivals like the BJP of being a dynastic party, the Congress leadership will be hard pressed to deny tickets to a majority of the children of its important leaders while ensuring that senior leaders remain loyal to the party during the polls, Congress insiders said.
In the 2013 polls, Congress was forced to delay announcement of candidates in as many as four constituencies on account of pressure to grant tickets to children of senior leaders. With the ruling party projected to be on a good footing in the run-up to the elections, the number of Congress leaders who want to field their offspring has nearly trebled since 2013.
Siddaramaiah is among those who have recently indicated that he would like the Congress to field his son Yathindra, a medical doctor by profession, from his home constituency of Varuna in Mysuru district. The CM is said to be contemplating moving to the neighbouring Chamundeshwari constituency to accommodate his son.
Yathindra entered Varuna only in 2016 after the sudden demise of Siddaramaiah’s elder son Rakesh Siddaramaiah, who was expected to contest the 2018 polls.
Over the last two years, Dr Yathindra has been in charge of Varuna constituency and was seen at public events alongside Siddaramaiah on many occasions. Asked frequently about the possibility of his son contesting in the polls, the CM offered a standard reply: “the party will decide whether he should be given a ticket’’.
Among the other senior Congress ministers vying for tickets for their family members are PWD Minister H C Mahadevappa for his son Sunil Bose, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy for his daughter Soumya Reddy, Minister for Urban Development and Haj Roshan Baig for his son Ruman Baig, and Social Welfare Minister Kagodu Thimappa for his daughter Dr Nandini, sources said. Housing Minister M Krishnappa and his son Priya Krishna,both incumbent MLAs, will also be contention for Congress tickets again.
Also in the reckoning for tickets is senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily’s son Harsha Moily; central Congress leader and MP Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge, a sitting MLA and Minister for Information Technology; former Union minister K H Muniyappa’s daughter Roopakala Sridhar; former central minister Rahman Khan’s son Mansoor Ali Khan; senior leader Margaret Alva’s son Niret Alva; MLC and KPCC vice-president C Motamma’s daughter Nayana Jwahar and Assembly Speaker K B Koliwad’s son Prakash Koliwad.
“We always criticise our rivals like the Janata Dal Secular of being a father-and-children party, so it would be difficult to explain to workers and voters if many family members of Congress leaders are given tickets. We have suggested avoiding such nominations,’’ party sources said.
KPCC president G Parameshwara said that all decisions on candidates will be taken by the party high command and local leaders have been instructed not to unilaterally declare candidates.
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