Karnataka elections 2023: Congress on Wednesday (April 19) released the list of star campaigners for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly election. The list included the names of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, state chief DK Shivakumar, LoP Siddaramaiah, Jagadish Shettar, Shashi Tharoor and others to campaign for the party. However, the name of the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister and party leader Sachin Pilot was dropped from the list.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is among the list of 40-star campaigners for the upcoming election.
Infighting in Rajasthan Congress
The name of a senior Congress leader was dropped from the list amid the ongoing infighting in Rajasthan Congress. Last week Pilot staged a protest against his own government in the state. Pilot had alleged the Ashok Gehlot-led government failed to investigate corruption cases during the BJP regime in Rajasthan.
It should be mentioned here that Pilot observed a day-long fast on April 11 demanding action from his own Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government over cases of alleged corruption during the BJP's term. Pilot also targeted the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan for not taking action against the alleged corruption of the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, led by Vasundhara Raje.
Notably, the infighting in the party has again become the biggest concern for the Congress as the state will witness the crucial assembly polls this year. Pilot has been at loggerheads with Gehlot ever since the government came to power in 2018.
Congress gives ticket to Jagadish Shettar
Earlier, Congress released its fourth list of 7 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023. The party has fielded newly-joined member Jagadish Shettar from Hubli-Dhrwad-central. Recently, former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar resigned from BJP and joined Congress. The resignation of Shettar resulted in a major political fight in the state. Earlier on April 15, the grand old party released its third list introducing 16 fresh faces for the polls. Notably, the party also turned down the request of senior leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to contest from the second seat - Kolar.
The state will witness a single phase of voting on May 10, whereas, results will be declared on May 13. Notably, the term of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly will be ending on May 24. Speaking at the press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that more than 9.17 lakh first-time voters will be participating in the upcoming elections in Karnataka.
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