Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka are in the news as six children of ministers in the State from the ruling Congress party are trying their political luck in this election field. Due to the campaigning of these leaders, the atmosphere has become quite interesting.
On criticism of nepotism against the party, Karnataka Cong Chief DK Shivakumar on Friday stated that the political system in the entire country has changed now and, family members or children of Ministers or leaders in all political parties are being sent out to contest elections. “We are looking at new faces, we are looking at youngsters, we are looking at those who have a solid background, we want to win elections,” Shivakumar told reporters. “All local leaders are supporting them (Ministers’ children who are candidates), they have been working for the party, they are the office-bearers of the party, and they have been selected.”
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also said that giving tickets to the children and relatives of ministers was not dynastic politics but acknowledging the recommendation of voters. “Yes, we have given. We gave tickets to those whom the people of the constituency recommended. This is not dynastic politics but acknowledging people’s opinion,” Siddaramaiah told reporters. He was replying to a query about 10 family members and relatives of Karnataka ministers getting tickets to contest the Lok Sabha polls on behalf of the Congress party.
Prabha Mallikarjuna, wife of state minister SS Mallikarjuna, is also in the fray. Congress tried its best to field many ministers, but when no minister turned up to contest, they proposed to give tickets to their family members. The Congress leadership strongly conveys to these ministers, “Now do it.” In this way, the party has handed over the responsibility of making these ministers win for their children or family members. Congress had won only one seat in Karnataka in the 2019 general elections, but this time, the party has set an ambitious target of winning in 15 to 20 constituencies. Elections for 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7.
Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Ishwar Khandare, and HC Mahadevappa’s sons – Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar, Sagar Khandare, and Sunil Bose have been fielded from Belagavi (Belgaum), Bidar and Chamarajanagar respectively. While Satish Jarkiholi, Shivanand Patil and Ramalinga Reddy’s daughters – Priyanka Jarkiholi, Samyuktha Patil, and Soumya Reddy – are contesting from Chikkodi, Bagalkot and Bengaluru South, respectively.
Prabha, wife of Minister SS Mallikarjuna and daughter-in-law of senior party leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, is the party’s candidate from Davangere. “Even in these ‘do or die’ situations, ministers are seeing this Lok Sabha election as an opportunity to ‘launch’ their children. Except for Sowmya Reddy, none of these candidates have any electoral politics experience. Soumya Reddy has been an MLA. The party has fielded Radhakrishna Doddamani, son-in-law of Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge, from the family’s home constituency Kalaburagi (Gulbarga).
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