Karnataka: 'Winnability' Is An Excuse, Congress Fielding Kin Of Ministers, MLAs Because No Good Candidates Would Bet On It

Ahead of the general elections in India, the squabble over the distribution of tickets haunts the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But the Congress party seems to be facing a different kind of problem — no aspirant in their right mind wants to fight a losing battle.

As a result, the Congress' list of candidates from Karnataka contains many names of kins of state ministers and MLAs. These are the sons, daughters, wives and relatives. So far, 14 candidates have a familial connection to someone in politics, within the Congress party, who will be fighting the polls in 2024.

Media reports suggest the possibility of four more candidates being announced with similar linkages. This would take the tally up to 18 — which effectively means that 18 of 28 candidates in Karnataka will be accused of obtaining the ticket as a byproduct of nepotism — an accusation that has already tainted the Congress' image in the past.

Everyone who is someone

Congress insiders tell Swarajya that the sitting MLAs and ministers do not want to vacate their seats or lose a ministry. That's one of the main reasons their family members are being fielded from various seats.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Sivakumar's brother, D K Suresh, the sitting MP from Bangalore Rural, is also being fielded by the party. Apart from him, five others are related to a sitting minister in the CM Siddaramaiah cabinet.

1. Sowmya Reddy who is contesting against Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya happens to be the daughter of Ramalinga Reddy, the Minister for Transport.

2. Priyanka Jarkiholi is contesting from Chikkodi. She is the daughter of Satish Jarkiholi, Minister of Public Works Department.

3. Laxmi Hebbalkar's (Minister of Women and Child Development) son Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar has been fielded from Belgaum as a candidate against Jagadish Shettar, former CM of Karnataka who recently rejoined the BJP.

4. At 26, Eshwar Khandre's son Sagar Khandre is contesting from the Bidar parliamentary constituency. Khandre is the Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment.

5. Samyukta S Patil, the Bagalkot candidate, is Shivanand Patil's daughter. Shivanand Patil is the Minister of Agriculture Marketing and Sugar.

Others include:

6. Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, has pushed for Geetha Shivarajkumar's ticket. Geetha is Madhu's sister and is the wife of popular Kannada actor Shivarajkumar.

7. AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law, Radhakrishna Doddamani, is fighting from the Gulbarga constituency. His son Priyank Kharge is already an MLA and a minister in the Karnataka government.

8. Prabha Mallikarjun, the candidate from Davanagere, is the wife of S S Mallikarjun, the Minister of Mines and Geology.

9. Hassan Congress candidate Shreyas Patel is Puttaswamy Gowda's grandson. He was a minister in the past.

10. Raghavendra Hitnal's brother Rajashekar Hitnal has been fielded from Koppal. Hitnal is an MLA.

11. Anandswamy Gaddadevaramath is the son of former MLA G S Gaddadevaramath. The latter was Shiratti MLA. His son is contesting from Haveri-Gadag against former CM Basavaraj Bommai.

12. Venkataramegowda (popularly known as Star Chandru) is related to Congress MLA Sharat Bachegowda. The former is fighting from Mandya.

13. Bangalore North candidate Prof Rajeev Gowda was a Rajya Sabha MP in the past. His father M V Venkatappa, held the positions of Legislative Assembly Speaker and Chairman of the legislative council in Karnataka.

14. Bangalore Central candidate Mansoor Khan's father was a former RS MP, Rahman Khan. They own educational institutions in the city.

D K Shivakumar has defended the Congress decision to give tickets to the kin of ministers and MLAs by saying that the party wanted to introduce "new faces" and was looking at "youngsters who have a solid background". He has also stated that 'winnability' was the key factor behind the selection of the aforementioned names.

'Don't want to lose ministries'

Speaking to Swarajya, on the condition of anonymity, a top Congress source from Karnataka said that good candidates are hesitating to contest this time.

"We had a difficult time in scouting for winnable candidates. While there are many, unfortunately, several factors have to be considered. On one hand, some potential candidates did not want to fight the elections because of the fear of losing ministries and favours," he said.

"In some constituencies, money does play a role, but that is not the primary factor. The party thinks that ministers and MLAs can pull off a better campaign if their children are given the tickets because it is a matter of reputation for them. They will also spend money and put their best efforts to secure their future," he added.

Bangalore Rural, Chikkodi, Bijapur, Davanagere, Chamarajanagar

B Y Vijayendra, the Karnataka BJP chief hit out at the Congress, accusing them of being unable to find candidates to fight the polls. He said that they are looking at their ministers or their kin to try and convince them to contest from different seats.

"It does not have any direction and it is going to be defeated by a huge margin," ANI quoted him as saying. Meanwhile, the Congress maintains that they are going to secure a victory in at least 20 seats — something they have not experienced since 1999 when the party won 18 seats in Karnataka.

Since then, the Congress has been of no match to the BJP during general elections in the state. It was the same election where a 'videsi bahu' versus 'swadeshi beti' contest had taken place in Bellary, between Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj.

Sonia's mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had also contested the polls from Karnataka in 1978 from Chikmagalur where she won.

Other candidates in the fray

The Congress is yet to announce its candidates from four constituencies. These includes Bellary, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, and Chamarajanagara.

Media reports suggest a few other possible kin of Congress leaders in the fray for the remaining seats. This includes Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa who has insisted that the Kolar ticket be given to one of his family members.

Congress insiders are almost sure of Raksha Ramaiah's candidature being announced from Chikkaballapura parliamentary constituency. He is the son of former Congress minister M R Seetharam and the grandson of M S Ramaiah, the founder of MSR Group of Institutions which runs schools, and hospitals among other prominent institutes in the city.

There are talks of B Venkatesh, brother of Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports, B Nagendra, lobbying for the Bellary ticket while Sandur MLA E Tukaram is reportedly asking the party to field his daughter Sowparnika Tukaram from the same seat.

Dr H C Mahadevappa, Minister for Social Welfare, is reportedly demanding a ticket for his son Sunil Bose to contest from Chamarajanagar.

If the reports from the other three or four constituencies turn out to be true, by the end of the month, the Congress would have announced nearly 16-18 candidates who are related to some minister or MLA.