Cong likely to announce candidates for K'taka polls by month-end: Siddaramaiah

The Congress is likely to announce its list of candidates for Karnataka Assembly polls by the end of this month, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said today.

There is no 'Modi wave' in the state and the Congress is confident of winning the Assembly polls due in April-May, he added.

"The ticket distribution process is on. By the end of March, we will announce our list of candidates," Siddarmaiah told reporters here.

Already, a state election committee has been constituted, which will soon hold a meeting and recommend names to the screening committee which will further suggest the names to the central committee, he said.
 

Asked if the BJP's victory in northeast will have an impact in Karnataka, he said "there is no anti-incumbency in the state. "That's why we are confident and we will come back."

"It is not going to be 'Modi versus the CM' but 'communalism versus secularism," he said.

Asked if frequent tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah to the state will dent the party prospects, he said, "More and more Modi and Shah visit the state, it will benefit Congress. We are not afraid."

"Congress President Rahul Gandhi's poll campaign in the state will definitely yield results," he added.

Siddaramaiah was here in the national capital to discuss with Rahul Gandhi about the Rajya Sabha polls. He also met Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh with regard to tur dal procurement.