Bengaluru: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dr G Parameshwara on Tuesday said Congress will take the two by-elections, scheduled for April 9, seriously and the names of the candidates for the two seats – Nanjangud and Gundlupet – will be announced in two days.
Speaking with media persons at KPCC office here, Dr Parameshwara said the KPCC has sent the list of candidates to Congress high command for its nod. “We had sent observes to the respective assembly segments two months ago, to get feedback from Congress workers on the selection of candidates for these two seats. We have taken these elections seriously because of Opposition parties’ baseless allegations against Congress government,’’ Dr Parameshwara said.
Answering a query on whether the KPCC got scared over the outcome of the elections to the five state assemblies, Dr Parameshwara said Congress has been facing elections for over 100 years and it has tasted success as well as defeats in the elections. “We are not scared. Why should we? There is no need for us to get scared. We are prepared to face BJP’s challenge. There is a rumor about BJP national president Amit Shah canvassing for BJP candidates in the state. If it is true, you can judge who is scared of whom,’’ the KPCC president said.
Stating that KPCC had appointed one minister to oversee the preparations for the by-elections to the two assembly seats. “There are six zilla panchayat wards in the two assembly segments. While Nanjangud has 28 gram panchayats, Gundlupet has 43 gram panchayats. The KPCC has decided to assign one minister to each zilla panchayat ward. Around 12 ministers will be assigned as in-charge of the 12 zilla panchayat wards,’’ the KPCC president said adding that outcome of the by-elections would not have any impact on Congress government in the state.
He said the KPCC has not invited Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for election campaign. “We never invited Congress president or vice-president to campaign for by-elections. There are sufficient number of Congress leaders in the state who can manage these by-elections,’’ he said.
Refusing to comment on former chief minister S M Krishna’s plan to campaign in Nanjangud and Gundlupet assembly segments in support of BJP candidates, he said that he would comment on it only when Krishna begins campaigning in support of BJP candidates. “Let him speak against Congress. We know how to respond if he accuses Congress while campaigning for BJP candidates in Nanjangud and Gundlupet,’’ he said.
