Snub For Siddaramaiah? Congress May Refuse Kolar As 2nd Seat, Say Sources

Veteran Congress leader Siddaramaiah's hope to contest from Kolar seat in the upcoming Karnataka election is likely to be dashed as the party high command, as of now, has no plans to field him from two constituencies, sources in the Congress have told NDTV.

The reason, they said, was to send a message through the party ranks that every seat is important and every party worker equal.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidate for Kolar. The first list of candidates announced by the party in March allotted the Varuna Assembly segment to Siddaramaiah. However, the former chief minister told NDTV in an interview this week that he is "mentally prepared" to contest from Kolar. His supporters, it is learnt, have conducted a survey in the constituency and found that the heavyweight leader is sure to win there.

Against this backdrop, a decision to not field Siddaramaiah from his preferred seat would be seen as a snub to the veteran leader.

During his interview with NDTV, Siddaramaiah had said, "The leaders and workers of the Congress party from Kolar district, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru rural are requesting me to contest from Kolar. They think that if I contest from Kolar, it will help more than 20 constituencies around Kolar. So mentally I'm prepared to contest from Kolar. But ultimately, the high command should decide whether I should contest from one or two constituencies. I told people in Kolar that if the high command agrees, I will contest from Kolar too because they have already cleared Varuna." 

Asked if he had thought of another option if the high command does not field him from Kolar, Siddaramaiah had replied, "It's not a question of option. That is not the case here. The high command ultimately has to agree. If the high command agrees, I will contest."

Responding to a question on reports that Kolar may not be a safe seat for Congress as the party does not have a base there, he had said, "If you say that there's no party structure in Kolar, it's not correct. There are party leaders, there's a party structure. Of course, Congress didn't win (there) for many years. That doesn't mean we don't have a structure there." 

Asked if his team's survey indicated that Kolar would be a safe seat for him to contest, he had told NDTV, "Yes, it is."

According to sources, the high command's decision to not field Siddaramaiah from another seat followed another leader's demand to contest from two constituencies.

Dr G Parameshwara, a former Deputy Chief Minister, has been fielded in Koratgere seat. Sources said he also wanted to contest from Pulikeshinagar, but the party refused. The senior leader, it is learnt, then questioned why Siddaramaiah should get to contest from two seats.

Among the toughest challenges the Congress high command faces in the upcoming election is to contain the infighting among its state leaders and ensure it does not derail its campaign in Karnataka. The party has repeatedly tried to show a united front in its balancing act with top state leaders Siddaramaiah and state party chief DK Shivakumar, both aspirants for the Chief Minister post. The two leaders, too, have stressed that they are united in the party's fight for a win.

The Congress is desperate to register a win in the southern state, where the incumbent BJP is on a backfoot owing to a leadership vacuum and corruption charges.

With the 42 names announced today, the Congress has announced candidates for 166 seats. It is yet to name its picks for 58.

Among the smart choices in the second list in giving up the Melukote seat for Darshan Puttannaiah from Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.

The Congress has fielded Bhimasen Chimmanakatti from Badami, currently represented by Siddaramaiah. Mr Chimmanakatti's father BB Chimmanakatti had given up the seat for Siddaramaiah in 2018.

Siddaramaiah, also Leader of the Opposition in Assembly, later raised concerns that the constituency is too far for him to attend to people's grievances and decided to give it up.

A surprise pick in the second list was in Basavakalayana seat, where Vijay Singh, son of former chief minister Dharam Singh, will be making his Assembly polls debut.