NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 41 candidates for the next-month Karnataka assembly elections and also marked a seat for the regional outfit Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.

The elections to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13. With the second list of candidates in 42 constituencies (including in Melukote), the party has so far announced the candidates for 166 out of total 224 seats. The party has to now finalise the list for the remaining 58 seats.

The candidates were finalised at a meeting of the Central Election Committee headed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and top party leaders from Karnataka, including former chief minister Siddaramaiah, state chief DK Shivakumar and All India Congress Committee in-charge for the state, Randeep Surjewala, were present at the meeting.

The Congress is seeking to wrest power from the BJP in Karnataka, the only southern state where the saffron party is in power.

There is no mention of Kolar, the second seat from where senior party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, wants to contest, in addition to Varuna, where his name is already cleared.

Baburao Chinchansur and N Y Gopalakrishna, who had quit as BJP MLC and MLA recently and joined Congress have been fielded Gurmitkal and Molakalmuru, respectively. Gopalakrishna was BJP’s MLA from Kudligi in Vijayanagara district in the current Assembly.

While S R Srinivas (Vasu), who had quit as JD(S) MLA has been fielded as a candidate from Gubbi.

Congress has left the Melukote seat in Mandya district for Darshan Puttannaiah of Sarvodaya Karnataka Party. His father late Puttannaiah was a prominent farmer leader and had earlier represented the constituency.

Former Minister Vinay Kulkarni, who was expected in some quarters to take on Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from Shiggaon in Haveri district, has been given ticket to contest from Dharwad.

Kulkarni has been barred from entering Dharwad district by court in connection with the murder of zilla panchayat member Yogeeshgouda Goudar.

Former Chief Minister Dharam Singh’s son, Vijay Dharam Singh, has got a ticket from Basavakalyan. His brother, a sitting MLA and Opposition’s chief whip Ajay Dharam Singh in the current Assembly, had got the ticket from Jewargi in the first list.

Bheemasen B Chimmannakatti has been given the ticket from Badami, which was represented by Siddaramaiah. He is the son of Balappa Bhimappa Chimmankatti, who had vacated the seat for the former CM in 2018 Assembly polls.

Siddhegowda will contest from Chamundeshwari, the other seat from where Siddaramaiah had lost in the 2018 elections.

Former Ministers Santosh Lad, Anjaneya H, Kimmane Rathnakar and R B Thimmapur are contesting from Kalghatgi, Holalkere, Tirthahalli and Mudhol respectively.

It was widely expected that the Kadur seat would go to senior politician YSV Datta, who had switched to Congress from JD(S) recently, but the ticket has been given to Anand K.S. Datta was considered to be one of the close confidants of former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda.

According to Congress sources, among the second list of 42 candidates, 11 are Lingayats (including one Reddy Lingayat), Vokkaligas 11 (including Darshan Puttannaiah), Kuruba 3, Muslims 3, SC 4, ST 2.

BENGALURU: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar called on All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge at the latter’s residence here on Saturday. The meeting of the top leaders assumes significance as the Congress is likely to release its second list of candidates for the May 10 Assembly elections soon. According to informed sources, the duo discussed the possible rebellion that may arise due to factionalism in the party and the strategy to quell it.

“Met AICC President Manya  @Kharge at his residence today. Many issues were discussed in the wake of the  Karnataka assembly elections,” Shivakumar tweeted after the 25-minute meeting. The duo also discussed whether to release the second list before Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kolar on April 9 to attend the Jai Bharat rally. The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress will sit again under the chairmanship of Kharge on April 5 to finalise the candidates for the remaining 100 seats. Sources said the list is expected to be announced either on April 6 or 7.

The Congress recently released the names of 124 candidates and did not face any backlash. Of the remaining 100 seats, the party has finalised candidates for about 35 seats where there was just one aspirant. “But there is a problem in constituencies where there are multiple candidates,” an informed source told TNSE.

For instance, there is a competition between Santhosh Lad and Nagaraj Chebbi belonging to Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar factions, respectively, in Kalghatgi. Similarly, there is opposition from a section of Congress leaders to field  Shivakumar’s supporter Ashok Rai in Puttur. 

BENGALURU:  Former Bengaluru deputy mayor BS Puttaraju, who was not given the Congress ticket from Rajajinagar, has threatened to turn rebel. Puttaraju, a Lingayat, held a meeting at the Ram Mandir grounds on Monday, attended by about a thousand of his supporters, and apprised them of the situation. 

Puttaraju was among the few names suggested by the Veerashaiva Mahasabha when Mahasabha president Shamanur Sivashankarappa met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss candidates for assembly tickets. The Mahasabha informed Kharge that of about 100 seats in the south of the state, the community was seeking 10 seats. Mahasabha secretary Renuka Prasanna said they have sought 10 seats, “but even if six or seven seats are given, it is fine”. 

Puttaraju told TNIE, “Lingayats are supporting the Congress in a much bigger way this time. There are 15 lakh Lingayats in Bengaluru City, Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara areas, but we have not got a single ticket. By contrast, Vokkaligas, who number 25 per cent, have got 18 seats. Brahmins have got three seats, though their numbers are negligible.’’ Lingayats account for 17-18% of the state population. 

While Lingayats are happy that they have been given seats in Chikkanayakanhalli, Tiptur and Gundlupet, they are also seeking tickets from Chikkamagaluru, Kadur-Tarikere, Chitradurga and Belur in Hassan, which are yet to be considered. Community leaders are also seeking Chickpet for former mayor Gangambike, as the area has a large number of Lingayats. 

Their argument is that only if Lingayats are better represented by way of tickets, will the community give 
more support to the Congress. In addition to the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, various pontiffs have spoken to Kharge, CLP leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, urging for greater representation. Whether the Congress recognises the Lingayats’ legitimate claim for more seats and reaps a harvest of votes remains to be seen. 

BIDAR/BENGALURU: Defending the Karnataka government’s decision to withdraw a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category recently and distributing it among Lingayats and Vokkaligas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Constitution has no provision to provide reservation to any particular religion.

Congress leaders termed it an attempt to create hatred among communities. Hitting out at them, Shah appreciated the Basavaraj Bommai government’s decision to use that 4 per cent reservation to increase the quota for Lingayats and Vokkaligas by 2 per cent each.

In a major decision on Friday, the Karnataka cabinet scrapped the 4 per cent OBC quota for Muslims under 2B category and moved them to the Economically Weaker Section. The freed-up quota was used to increase the reservation for Vokkaligas from 4 per cent to 6 per cent and for Lingayats from 5 per cent to 7 per cent.

Shah, who was speaking after unveiling a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Martyrs’ Memorial at Gorta village in Bidar district, alleged that the previous Congress government had provided the 4 per cent quota to appease the minorities.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar wondered whether Lingayats and Vokkaligas had asked the government to take away the minority reservation to give it to them. “The existing 56 per cent cap on reservation should have been expanded to increase the reservation for the two communities. Lingayats had asked for a 15 per cent quota and Vokkaligas 12 per cent,” he said.

He alleged that the BJP government threatened Vokkaliga community’s religious head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji and Panchamasali Lingayat seer Sri Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji to accept the 2 per cent hike each in reservation. “They are not beggars to accept it as it has been robbed from another community. Why is the BJP government trying to sow hatred between communities by scrapping the Muslims OBC quota? Are minorities not our people,” he asked. 

BENGALURU:  KPCC president DK Shivakumar (Kanakapura), former minister H C Mahadevappa (T Narasipura), former DCM G Parameshwara (Koratagere) and former minister TB Jayachandra (Sira) will contest the assembly elections from their respective constituencies.

In a surprise move, the Congress has declared Anup Iyengar, a political novice, as its candidate for Malleswaram and he will take on IT/BT Minister C N Ashwathnarayan of the BJP. Puttanna, who resigned as BJP MLC, has been given the Rajajinagar seat, currently held by BJP veteran S Suresh Kumar. Pulakeshinagar has been kept open as there was opposition from the minority community to the candidature of   MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy.

D Sudhakar has been cleared for Hiriyuru in Chitradurga district instead of BJP MLA Poornima Srinivas, daughter of former Congress minister late A Krishnappa, who switched loyalty to Congress.

Chikkaballapur BJP MP B N Bachegowda’s son and independent MLA Sharath Bachegowda has been given Hoskote seat, putting an end to speculation of minister MTB Nagaraj’s retreat to Congress.

Candidates for Yeshwanthpur and KR Pete have not been announced as Congress is still expecting ministers ST Somashekar and Narayanagowda to join the party at the last minute.

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘Man Friday’ and MLC UB Venkatesh (Basavanagudi), former minister AK Subbaiah’s son AS Ponnanna (Virajpet), Leader of Opposition in the Council BK Hariprasad’s nephew Rakshith Shivaram (Belthangady), former CM BS Yediyurappa’s aides UB Banakar (Hirekerur) and RSS man KS Kirankumar (Chikkanayakanahalli) have made it to the list. Eight Muslims figure in the list, including Iqbal Hussain HA (Ramanagara), Tanveer Sait (Narasimharaja), UT Khader (Mangaluru), and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan (Chamrajpet). 

BENGALURU: The much-awaited eastern extension line of Bengaluru Metro, from Whitefield Kadugodi to KR Puram, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. With the addition of this 13.71-km stretch with 12 stations, Bengaluru Metro has 69.66 km connectivity with 63 stations, making it the second largest network in the country after Delhi Metro.

The Rs 4,249-crore project will reduce the travel time between Whitefield and KR Puram to 22 minutes and is expected to have an incremental ridership of 1.5 lakh. Metro security personnel had a tough time persuading the passengers, who arrived at the station in large numbers to travel on this route, to come on Sunday when the line will be open to the public.

When work on the crucial stretch of 2.1 km from K R Puram to Baiyappanahalli is completed by mid-year, it is likely to benefit over 5 lakh Bengalureans working in IT Parks, malls, hospitals and Fortune 500 companies.

Modi also inaugurated the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), which allows people to use multiple modes of transport across the country and make purchases.

After a quick stroll through the station where installations depicting the history of BMRCL, underground tunnelling work and other landmark events were displayed, Modi went to the ticket counter and collected his NCMC card.

It was a moment of joy for Metro staffer Bharati S Iyer, who handed the NCMC card to Modi. The PM produced it at the Automatic Fare Collection gate at Kadugodi station before boarding the train at 1.17 pm from Platform 1 to Sri Sathya Sai Hospital station 4 km away.

It was a trip to cherish for seven class IX and X students of government schools in the vicinity. They were on Coach 2 with the PM who eagerly interacted with them. Modi also interacted with contract workers who built the line, BMRCL women engineers, train operators and other Metro staffers. Train operator P Priyanka piloted the train with nearly 175 passengers, including VIPs Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

DAVANGERE: Two civic workers who were cleaning a drainage at Basavanakote village in Jagaluru taluk on Tuesday fell ill and died at Chigateri district hospital.

According to eyewitnesses, Dundappa (45) and Nagappa (42) from Basavanakote village died due to suffocation. Shashidhar Patil, panchayat development officer of Basavanakote village, asked Dundappa and Nagappa to clean the clogged drainage without giving them any safety gear. This resulted in the workers inhaling toxic gas emanating from the drainage. They were immediately shifted to Arsikere PHC after they complained of uneasiness. They were given first aid at Arsikere and taken to Chigateri district hospital where they died.

Both were sole breadwinners.

Meanwhile, the executive officer of Jagaluru taluk panchayat Chandrashekhar said Dundappa and Nagappa fell ill while they were cleaning the drainage. Further investigations are on, he added.

M Shivanna Kote, Chairperson, of the Safai Karamchari Commission, said, “I have sought a report from the Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and the ZP CEO on the reasons for the death of two workers.”

“We will conduct an inquiry and action will be initiated accordingly.  The official, who had given the work order should be arrested immediately,” he said.

Adequate precautions should have been taken before asking the workers to get into the manhole. The workers got into the 4-foot manhole without any safety gear. This resulted in their death. “I will visit the family members of Dundappa and Nagappa on Thursday and ensure that all benefits are extended to them,” Shivanna said. Bilichodu police have registered a complaint.

BELAGAVI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday called on party leaders in poll-bound Karnataka to fight the BJP in a united manner as he exuded confidence about “sweeping” the upcoming assembly elections.

The party also wooed the youth with promises of unemployment allowance — its fourth poll ‘guarantee’ — and filling up of vacancies in government jobs, in the event of the party coming to power in the State, where Assembly elections are due by May.

While thanking people of Karnataka for supporting his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and making it successful, Gandhi took a dig at the BJP-led government at the Centre. “The Yatra sent out a message that this country belongs to everyone, not just to select two to three, not Adaniji’s (industrialist Gautam Adani). This country belongs to farmers, labourers, the poor and youth,” the Wayanad MP said.

They want a government that will work for poor, downtrodden, middle class, small traders,” Gandhi said.

Taking into account the message of the youth that they are not getting jobs, the Congress has decided to give Rs 3,000 per month to every graduate, and Rs 1,500 per month to every diploma holder, for two years as unemployment allowance, he said. “We understand your (youth) problem and BJP is not giving you jobs.” He said the Congress government in the state will provide jobs to 10 lakh youth in five years, and assured that 2.5 lakh government vacancies will be filled up.

Addressing the youth convention ‘Yuva Kranti Samavesha’ organised by the party’s state unit here, he said, “We will defeat BJP together and make Congress win with a huge majority.” His message of unity to party leaders and workers, ahead of ticket distribution, gains significance amid speculation that disgruntlement may surface within the party following the selection of candidates.

Also, there is already a game of one-upmanship between top leaders for the Chief Minister post in the event of it coming to power.

This was the former AICC President’s first visit to poll-bound Karnataka, months after the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, led by him, marched its way through parts of the state.

Noting that during the yatra, he got two to three clear messages from the people of Karnataka, Gandhi said the youth told him that the state government has failed in providing jobs.

The party has already announced three poll ‘guarantees’ — 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), and 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), on coming to power.

AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, the party’s state unit chief D K Shivakumar, Legislature Party leader and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah among several leaders were part of the mega rally.

Highlighting the major message he got from the people of the state during the Yatra that the incumbent Karnataka administration is the “most corrupt government in the country” with a “40 per cent commission” sought in public works, Gandhi said the letters written by the contractors’ association and school managements’ association to Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining about the extortion charges “has not got the response”.

Listing out alleged corruption scandals in the state, he said BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa’s son was caught with Rs 8 crore in the cash-for-contract scam-hit KSDL Corporation, “but no action has been taken, and the government is protecting him”.

Also, there were job scams relating to the recruitment of Police Sub Inspectors (PSI), Assistant Professor, and Assistant Engineers, he further said, adding that there is a list. “This is the most corrupt government in the whole country.”

Corruption is happening because all benefits are going to just two to three people, Gandhi said, while noting that he spoke about Adani (following the Adani-Hindenburg issue) in Parliament.

“All the businesses and industries in the country are being given to him, whether it is airports, ports, roads, are all being given to Adaniji, the same thing is happening here (in Karnataka). Select few people who are BJP government’s friends, all the benefits are being given to them. Because of this, there is rampant corruption in the state,” he alleged.

Gandhi also urged the BJP government that it should fulfill its promise of hiking the reservation of SCs from 15 to 17 per cent and STs from 3 to 7 per cent by implementing it.

KOLAR: A survey conducted by Congress poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu and his team, predicting a defeat for former chief minister Siddaramaiah in Kolar, has been questioned by Congress leaders from Kolar.

They said they have been working for Siddaramaiah’s victory for the last two months and he should win comfortably from here. MLC Anil Kumar, who is one of the members in charge of Siddaramaiah’s poll campaign in Kolar, said information indicates that voters are in favour of Siddaramaiah.

Kolar sitting MLA K Srinivasa Gowda, who had offered to sacrifice his seat, warned that if Siddaramaiah chooses any constituency other than Kolar, he will retire from politics. He denied having any information on the high command asking Siddaramaiah to choose Varuna.

“I want Siddaramaiah to win from Kolar and become a chief minister,” he said, adding that he will not try to persuade the senior leader as he is confident that Siddaramaiah will contest from Kolar.

Praveen Gowda, a KPCC member, who is heading a team of Youth Congress, said Congress leaders and workers are working to ensure Siddaramaiah’s victory in Kolar. “If the high command is in doubt, another survey should be conducted. Youth Congress leaders will mail to the high command, asking them to allow Siddaramaiah to contest from here,” he added.

A senior Congress leader raised doubts over the methodology used by Kanugolu. “The party has been gaining strength over the last two months as voters are expecting Siddaramaiah to contest. If the high command decides to field another candidate, it will be a difficult situation for the party,” he added.

From Sunday, Congress leaders held meetings and decided to meet Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru to appeal to him to contest from Kolar. Party sources told The New Indian Express that one reason Siddaramaiah decided not to contest from Kolar was that party leader would be busy with their own constituencies leaving him without any backing.