Cong not to project any CM candidate in K'taka polls

Says Congress has 'excellent' chances of coming to power in the state

Dismissing the ruling BJP as the "weakest" party and claiming Congress had "excellent" chances of coming to power in the May 5 state Assembly polls, Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily today said the party would not project any chief ministerial candidate.

Speaking to reporters here, Moily said the BJP rule was marked by maladministration and corruption and there was "no question" of that party returning to power. To repeated taunts by the BJP to Congress to name its chief ministerial candidate, he said his party did not believe in projecting anyone as the practice was that the MLAs would be consulted and the leader elected.

"They (BJP) announce their captain of and on. That is why they collapsed," Moily said. Ruling out himself being in the race for chiefministership in the event of Congress being voted to power, he said his role would be to ensure the party's victory. "I am not an aspirant for chief ministership."

On the heartburn caused among a section of ticket aspirants in the Congress, Moily said there was a "problem of plenty" in his party. "But we look at it as an advantage which the BJP and JD-S do not have," he said adding there were no rebels.

To a query, Moily said there was no question of post-electoral alignment either with the JD-S led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda or Karnataka Janatha Paksha headed by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, as the Congress was confident of doing well on its own.

Meanwhile, as many as 84 candidates filed their nominations today for the May five Assembly elections on the second day of the poll process, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anil Kumar Jha said. Jha said 27 candidates had submitted their nominations on April 10, the first day when filing of papers began.

To a query on the prominent names in today's list he said, "sitting MLAs and ministers are yet to file their nominations".