Bengaluru: With only two days to go for filing nominations for the Assembly by-polls, the Congress is yet to announce its candidates for seven of the 15 Assembly constituencies.
The 15 constituencies will be going to polls on December 5. The by-polls have been necessitated after their respective MLAs, formerly belonging to the Congress and JD(S) parties, resigned, resulting in the toppling of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government and the MLAs’ subsequent disqualification by then speaker of the Assembly, Ramesh Kumar.
According to reports, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao went to New Delhi on Friday, with a list of candidates for the seven Assembly segments for approval by the party’s high command.
Sources say that the list of candidates for the remaining constituencies, including Bengaluru’s Shivajinagar, will be announced today, and that the candidates can file their nominations latest by Monday, November 18 (the last day for filing of nominations).
The delay in finalising of the list, according to sources, is because the candidate for Shivajinagar was not yet decided. It is said that KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao and Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah want to give the ticket to MLC Rizwan Arshad, while a few other leaders are also demanding the ticket.
So far, the party has announced its candidates for eight Assembly segments. It is said that former MLA Raju Kage, who jumped from the BJP to the Congress on Thursday, is likely to be the party candidate from the Kagwad segment.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah will be campaigning in Hoskote Assembly segment today.
