The Congress has decided to field Sunil Bose, son of Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa, from the Chamarajanagar (SC) constituency. The central election committee on Friday, March 30, also finalised candidates for Chikkaballapura and Ballari (ST) constituencies with Raksha Ramaiah and E Tukaram being selected, respectively. With this, only the candidacy for Kolar remains undecided due to internal disputes among district Congress leaders.
In the Ballari (ST) reserved constituency, MLA E Tukaram will be contesting against BJP’s Sriramulu. Despite significant lobbying efforts from senior figures like former Union Minister M Veerappa Moily and former Minister NH Shivashankara Reddy, Raksha Ramaiah, son of former Minister MR Seetharam, was nominated for Chikkaballapura. This decision has left Moily and Reddy unhappy, who questioned Ramaiah's contributions to the district.
So far, Congress has announced candidates for 27 out of 28 constituencies in Karnataka, except Kolar. While the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) reportedly proposed KV Gowtham, president of the Bengaluru Central District Congress Committee, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has not yet approved his candidacy.
According to reports, KPCC's recommendation came after discussions with various factions, including one led by Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa and rebel legislators. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar engaged with both factions on Thursday. Another faction, led by former Legislative Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar and five legislators, opposed the potential candidacy of Chikka Peddanna, who is the son-in-law of Muniyappa.