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In its second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on March 21 announced fielding its national president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law and children of five ministers in Karnataka.
”Yes, we have given. We gave tickets to those whom the people of the constituency recommended. This is not dynastic politics but acknowledging people’s opinion,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
He was replying to a query about 10 family members and relatives of Karnataka ministers getting tickets to contest the Lok Sabha polls on behalf of Congress.
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PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi will fight from Chikkodi.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Sowmya Reddy will fight against BJP’s sitting MP Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South.
Textile Minister Shivanand Patil’s daughter Samyukta S Patil from Bagalkot, Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s son Mrinal Hebbalkar from Belgaum (Belagavi) and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s son Sagar Khandre from Bidar.
Former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan’s son Mansoor Ali Khan has been fielded from Bangalore Central and Minister S S Mallikarjun’s wife Prabha Mallikarjun is in the fray from Davangere.
The chief minister said the party will release the list of candidates for the four remaining constituencies in Karnataka in a day or two.
On a question of the party facing a ‘knotty problem’ in Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency, the chief minister said, ”We have neither any ‘knotty problem’ nor any conflict. Since we don’t want to release the list in one slot, we are doing it later.” Siddaramaiah was confident that the Congress will win at least 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
He said he will not lie like the BJP, which says that it will win all 28 seats in Karnataka, which, according to him, was not possible.
To a question whether the BJP and the JD(S) alliance will cause problems for the Congress, Siddaramaiah said, ”That (alliance) will favour us.” When asked to elaborate on how the alliance will work for Congress, he said certain secrets cannot be revealed.
The chief minister said he was confident that the five guarantees his government has launched will surely help the party win the elections.
”We have spent Rs 36,000 crore this year. For next fiscal, we will earmark Rs 52,900 crore. We don’t lie like the BJP. We implement what we promised,” Siddaramaiah said.
Noting that his party depends on its achievements in the elections, the chief minister said people trust his government, unlike the BJP, which lies and never implements its promises.
”In the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP made 600 promises, but it did not fulfill even 10 per cent of them. Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi give you Rs 15 lakh? Created two crore jobs, doubled the income of farmers and brought ‘Achche Din’. Why will people trust him?” he said.
Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats and the state goes to polls in two phases – April 26 and May 7.