Half the Cong LS candidates to be finalised in meeting: DKS

NT Correspondent

New Delhi / Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday exuded confidence that about 50 per cent of the party candidates for the Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka would be finalised in the meeting on the day.

There are 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka.

“Congress party’s election committee meeting will be held today in the evening. We are about to conclude discussion on 50 per cent of the candidates,” Shivakumar told mediapersons.

“It is not possible to release the names of all candidates in a single list. We might be able to do it in two lists,” he added.

He also didn’t rule out the possibility of sitting ministers in CM Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet contesting from some seats.

The CM attended a programme by the Lingayat community in Basavakalyan town in Bidar district on the day instead. He added that recent inductees to the party might also be given an opportunity to prove their mettle in the general elections.

The comments come in the backdrop of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary HN Ravindra tendering his resignation from his post a day prior, alleging that the party had been selling tickets to the highest bidder.

Ravindra had been a contender for the Mandya Lok Sabha seat but the ticket for the same is likely to go to Venkataramane Gowda, who is the brother of independent MLA from Gauribidanur KH Puttaswamy Gowda.

The MLA is one of two candidates who have warmed up to the Congress after last May’s Assembly elections.