Congress changes six names in final list for Karnataka polls

Releasing the final list of candidates for the May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections, the ruling Congress on Sunday announced a change of candidates in six seats and selected nominees for five other seats.

"The central election committee has changed the nominees in six seats and selected candidates for five other seats," Congress General Secretary Mukul Wasnik said in a statement here.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will contest from Badami in Vijayapura district in place of Devraj Patil in addition to Chamundeshwari in Mysuru.

H.P. Rajesh will contest from Jagalur (Reserved-Scheduled Tribe) in Davanagere district instead of A.L. Pushpa; K. Shadakshari from Tiptur in Tumakuru in place of B. Nanjaman; K.S. Renu from Malleshwaram in Bengaluru northwest instead of K.S. Renu; M. Srinivas from Padmanabhanagar in Bengaluru southwest in place of B.G. Naidu; and K.P. Chandrakala from Madikeri in Kodagu instead of H.S. Chandra Mouli.

The candidates for five other seats are N.H. Harris from Shantinagar in Bengaluru; K. Inamdar from Kittur in Belagavi district; V.D. Katakdhond from Nagathan (SC); M.N. Sali from Sindgi in Vijayapura; and Sayed Yasin from Raichur in the state's northwest region.

The Congress first list with 218 names was released on April 15 for elections to the 225-member house, including one nominated.

The party has decided not to field candidate from Melukote in Mandya district in support of Swaraj India candidate Darshan Puttanaiah, son of the state's farmer leader late K.S. Puttanaiah, who was a legislator from the same seat.

The party replaced Madikeri nominee Chandra Mouli as he was lawyer to the fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi, who fled the country in January after allegedly defrauding state-run Punjab National Bank along with his nephew Nirav Modi.

Yasin is the son-in-law of veteran party leader and former Railway Minister Jaffer Sharief.

Inamdar has been re-nominated from Kittur after he threatened to quit the party.

Harris, a two-time legislator from the prestigious Shantinagar segment in the city centre, also got re-nominated despite his son (Mohammad Nalapad) being in jail over a brawl at a city cafe on February 17.

Siddaramaiah, 69, filed his nomination on Friday from Chamundeshwari, which he has contested seven times and won five times since 1983.

Though he had won from Varuna in Mysuru district twice since the 2008 assembly elections, he shifted to Chamundeshwari, paving the way for his son Yatindra to contest from his home constituency. Yatindra too filed his nomination from Varuna on Friday.

Siddaramaiah is the party's second Chief Minister to complete a 5-year term after Devaraj Urs did so from 1972-78 in the southern state.

The veteran state leader joined the Congress from the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in August 2006 after parting ways with the latter's supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and his second son H.D. Kumaraswamy, who is also contesting from Ramanagara and Channapatna seats in Ramanagara district, about 50km from Bengaluru.

Polling will be held in a single phase for 224 Assembly seats, including 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes. Votes will be counted on May 15.

--IANS

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