LS member Kumaraswamy in Janata Dal (S) election list

JD(S) headed by former prime minister H D Devegowda today announced its first list of 122 candidates for the May 5 Karnataka Assembly elections which also included one of his sons and a daughter-in-law. First off the blocks to release the list among the three major political parties, JD(S) fielded Gowda's son, H D Kumaraswamy and another Lok Sabha member N Cheluvarayaswamy besides rewarding some defectors from ruling BJP.

Kumaraswamy, the party's state unit President and Bangalore Rural MP, would contest from Ramanagara, while his wife Anita has been fielded from neighbouring Channapatna. With this, Anita has shifted from Madugiri constituency in Tumkur to Bangalore Rural district.

Mandya MP, N Cheluvarayaswamy, is the party candidate from Nagamangala, which he had represented in the past. Raju Gouda alias Narasimha Naik (Surapura), Manappa Vajjal (Lingasagur) and

H S Shankaralinge Gowda (Cha-maraja), who resigned from BJP recently, were fielded in their respective constituencies. Gouda, who served as a Minister in the Jagadish Shettar Cabinet, joined the JD(S) today.

Former IPS officers Subhash Bharani and M C Narayana Gowda are the party nominees from Gandhinagar and Chikpet respectively. Madhu Bangarappa, son of former Chief Minister late S Bangarappa, is the candidate from Soraba, and former Home Minister P G R Sindhia from Kanakapura, as per the list released by Kumaraswamy. According to sources, Bhavani, wife of Devegowda's another son H D Revanna, is keen to contest from Belur segment in Hassan district. The party is slated to announce candidates for the remaining constituencies, including Belur, shortly. Karnataka, which has 224 Assembly seats, will have a single phase polling on May 5.