The Congress on Saturday announced its third list of 43 candidates for the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka, and turned down the request of senior leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to contest from the second seat -- Kolar.
Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who joined the Congress on Friday, has got the ticket from Athani in Belagavi district.
Also, senior Janaat Dal-Secular leader K M Shivalinge Gowda, who had joined the Congress recently, has been fielded from Arsikere.
The Congress has given tickets to at least 16 fresh faces in the third list. They include former Union Minister and Opposition's nominee for the Vice-President polls Margaret Alva's son Nivedit Alva, and former state Minister Motamma's daughter Nayana Jyothi Jhawar.
The party had on March 25 announced the first list of 124 candidates and second list for 42 constituencies (including Melukote where it is backing the candidate of a different party) on April 6.
With the third list of 43 candidates, the party has so far announced the nominees for 209 out of total 224 seats.
The Congress has fielded former Mulbagal MLA Kothur G Manjunath from Kolar, the second seat from where Siddaramaiah wanted to contest. The Karnataka HC had in April, 2018 had disqualified Manjunath, who had got elected as an independent MLA from Mulbagal in 2013 polls, on a charge of furnishing an illegal caste certificate.
According to party sources, as it got clearer that he will not get the ticket to contest from Kolar, Siddaramaiah himself is said to have favoured Manjunath, as the candidate, amid other aspirants.
Stating that he was among those who demanded that Siddaramaiah should contest from Kolar and it continues to be his demand even today, Manjunath told reporters he was caught by surprise to see his name in the list, as he along with other leaders from Kolar only expected Siddaramaiah's name to be announced as the candidate.
"I was surprised, I had not applied for a ticket from Kolar. Looking at my good work and organisational work, the party might have considered me for Kolar instead of Mulbagal, as I have a case going on there... Party high command has announced the list, but changing it is not a big deal, we want Siddaramaiah," he added.
While Siddaramaiah's name was announced as candidate from his home turf of Varuna in the first list itself, the Congress Legislature Party leader had maintained that he wished to contest from Kolar too, as the second seat, if the party high command agrees.
Siddaramaiah who currently represents Badami in Bagalkote district, had earlier announced that he will be contesting from Kolar, but backtracked after the party leadership reportedly cautioned him regarding the "risks" there, following which he opted for his earlier constituency Varuna, which is currently represented by his son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah.
However, Siddaramaiah under pressure from supporters and workers to contest from Kolar too, has been maintaining that he has expressed desire to the party leadership to contest from there, as his second seat, to the Congress high command, and it is up to them to decide.
Several senior state Congress leaders had reportedly opposed Siddaramaiah contesting from two seats.
Interestingly, announcement of a candidate comes a day ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's visit to address a rally in Kolar, the same place where he made a remark on the Modi surname for which he was convicted of criminal defamation and also stripped of his Parliament membership.
Former Minister Revu Naik Belamagi, who had quit the BJP and joined the Congress in 2022, has been fielded from Gulbarga Rural, while former Janata Dal-Secular MLA N H Konareddy, who joined the party in 2021, is a candidate from Navalgund.
Amid doubts about Kusumavathi C Shivalli getting a ticket from Kundgol, the party has renominated her.
The Congress has not announced a candidate for the Shiggaon Assembly segment yet from where Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is the BJP candidate.
Speculations are rife that the Congress is planning to field a strong candidate against Bommai, and is considering fielding former Minister Vinay Kulkarni, who has already got a ticket from Dharwad.
The Congress has also not announced a candidate to Hubli-Dharwad Central segment, from where senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar wants to contest, despite the party high command asking him to make way for others.
Having fielded V Raghunatha Naidu from Padmanabhanagar segment in Bengaluru, where Minister R Ashoka is a BJP candidate, Congress now seems to be planning to field KPCC President D K Shivakumar's brother and Bangalore Rural MP D K Suresh from there. This after the BJP fielded Ashoka from the second seat of Kanakapura, from where Shivakumar is contesting.
Responding to a question regarding Suresh contesting from Padmanabhanagar, Shivakumar said, "there is demand (for him to contest), we have given ticket to Naidu, let's see, we will discuss."
The third list has eight Lingayats, eight Vokkaligas and five SCs, among others.
