By-polls: Cong almost finalised candidates, list will be sent to high command, says Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Oct 21 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said the state unit of the Congress has almost finalised the candidates for by-polls for three assembly segments, and the list will soon be sent to high command to decide.

Ministers have been given responsibilities to ensure that the party wins the by-polls in all the three seats, said Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president.

Sandur, Shiggaon and Channapatna assembly segments will go for bypolls on November 13.

“We have almost finalised (on candidates), we have sought the opinion of our ministers. They have been given the responsibilities…we will send our proposal to Delhi (high command), they will discuss and decide,” Shivakumar said while speaking to reporters here.

In response to a question, he said, he cannot divulge as to how many names of probable candidates will be recommended to high command for each seat.

The last date for filing nominations is October 25, and the final date for withdrawal of papers is October 30.

By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives — E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) — to Lok Sabha in May elections.

Stating that party workers were demanding a ticket for his brother and former Bangalore Rural MP D K Suresh from Channapatna, Shivakumar said, “I have told them that we will abide by the party high command. I have not yet come out from the shock of the Lok Sabha poll loss (Suresh loss), but we are not ready to give up serving the people.”

Suresh, too, on Sunday had said that there is pressure on him to contest by-poll in Channapatna by party workers and leaders there.

Shivakumar also denied JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s claims that BJP MLC C P Yogeeshwara was in touch with the Congress for Channapatna ticket.

Hitting out at Kumaraswamy, he said, “I haven’t met Yogeeshwara or spoken to him, I’m on record. I last saw him at the Independence day official event, which he attended as a MLC…Why should we meet him (Yogeeshwara), he is another party MLC. We are looking for a candidate among our party workers.”

While the BJP has already announced its candidates for Sandur and Shiggaon segments, the party has ceded the high profile Channapatna seat to its alliance partner JD(S).

Yogeeshwara has openly asserted his candidature and even indicated that he may contest as an independent in the event of not getting the ticket. There were reports that Yogeeshwara may be fielded on a JD(S) ticket, but he seems to be not interested in it and wants Kumaraswamy to support him as BJP candidate, party sources said.

On his part, Kumaraswamy doesn’t want to cede the Channapatna seat that he had represented and which has become his political turf, to Yogeeshwara or BJP, sources added.

On the other hand, “D K Brothers” — Shivakumar and Suresh — are hoping to regain lost grounds in the region, after the Lok Sabha poll debacle, as Suresh had lost May Lok Sabha polls to BJP-JD(S) joint candidate Dr C N Manjunath in Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment , under which the Channapatna Assembly seat comes.