Lok Sabha Election 2024: In response to the BJP's accusations of "parivaarvad" (dynastic politics) against the Congress, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah countered, stating that providing tickets to the children and relatives of ministers is not "dynastic politics" but rather recognising the "recommendation of voters."
He was responding to a question regarding the allocation of tickets to 10 family members and relatives of Karnataka ministers to contest the Lok Sabha elections on behalf of the Congress.
Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said, "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."
Congress will win 20 seats
When questioned about potential challenges in the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency, the Chief Minister clarified that there are no significant issues or conflicts within the party. He explained that the delay in releasing the candidate list was not due to any internal problems but rather a strategic decision to stagger the announcements.
Siddaramaiah expressed confidence in the Congress winning at least 20 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. Unlike the BJP's claim of winning all 28 seats, which he deemed unrealistic, he asserted that his party does not resort to false promises.
Regarding the BJP and JD(S) alliance, Siddaramaiah said that 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 emphasised that his government's track record and the five guarantees it has implemented will contribute to the party's electoral success. "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.
Second list of candidates
In its second list of candidates announced on March 21 for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has fielded M Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law, Radhakrishna Doddamani, from the Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) Lok Sabha constituency.
Additionally, the children of five ministers in Karnataka were also nominated.
Priyanka Jarkiholi, daughter of PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, will contest from Chikkodi. Sowmya Reddy, daughter of Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, will face BJP’s sitting MP Tejasvi Surya in Bangalore South.
Samyukta S. Patil, daughter of Textile Minister Shivanand Patil, will run in Bagalkot. Mrinal Hebbalkar, son of Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, will stand in Belgaum (Belagavi). Sagar Khandre, son of Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, will contest from Bidar.
Other candidates include Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan, who will run in Bangalore Central, and Prabha Mallikarjun, wife of Minister S. S. Mallikarjun, who will contest from Davangere.
The Chief Minister mentioned that the party will release the list of candidates for the four remaining constituencies in Karnataka soon.
Karnataka Lok Sabha Election
The 28 seats of Karnataka will go to polls for the Lok Sabha elections in two phases on April 26 and May 7 (second and third phase).
Phase 1: Udupi Chikmagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bengalore South, Chikkballapur, Kolar.
Phase 2: Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Bellary, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davanagere, Shimoga.
The BJP is contesting in alliance with the JDS. The saffron party will contest 25 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka while its ally JDS will contest on the rest. Congress is contesting alone in the state.
The BJP had swept the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka bagging 25 seats. An idependent back by the party also won the election.
Also Read: BJP-JDS finalise seat-sharing for all 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka
