Home » Karnataka » Cms Son Among 8 Congress Candidates For Karnataka Mlc Polls Ns Boseraju K Govindraj Retained

CM’s son among 8 Congress candidates for Karnataka MLC polls; NS Boseraju, K Govindraj retained

Prominent leaders from BC and other religious communities have found a place in the list of Congress' MLC election candidates.

BySouth First Desk

Published Jun 02, 2024 | 10:14 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 02, 2024 | 10:14 PM

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The Vidhana Soudha the seat of the Karnataka Legislative Council. (Wikimedia Commons)

Congress on Sunday, 2 June, announced the names of candidates for eight seats for the Karnataka MLC elections.

The names included that of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son and former MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Legislative Council leader and minister NS Boseraju and the chief minister’s political secretary K Govindraj have been renominated.

Former MLC Ivan D’Souza, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Vasanth Kumar, party worker Bilkis Bano, and its Kalburagi unit president Jagadev Guttedar were also named as nominees for the biennial election slated on 13 June.

.@INCKarnataka announces candidates of the eight seats including Chief Minister @siddaramaiah son and former MLA @Dr_Yathindra_S for the upcoming MLC elections. #Karnataka Legislative Council leader and Minister NS Boseraju, CM’s political secretary K Govindraj have been… pic.twitter.com/s2LRWKEA9A

— South First (@TheSouthfirst) June 2, 2024

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Behind the names

On condition of anonymity, a senior Cabinet minister told South First: “The party has retained incumbent MLC NS Boseraju as he is a Cabinet minister and worked effectively in the Karnataka and Telangana Assembly polls.”

The minister added: “He also belongs to a Backward Class (BC) community. Considering his contribution to the party, he has been given another term.”

He also said: “Incumbent MLC K Govindraj has been retained as he is the chief minister’s political secretary and has a good rapport with the party leadership.”

The minister also said: “Former MLC Ivan D’Souza and Shivamogga Zila Parishad former president Bilkis Bano have been given tickets under the Christian and Muslim quota, respectively.”

On Yathindra’s nomination, he said: “In the 2023 Assembly polls, he gave up his seat for his father based on the directions of the party high command. He was promised to be accommodated into the Legislative Council by the high command. Hence, he has been given a ticket.”

The minister added: “The party is also aiming to groom him as a state-level leader by bringing him to the Legislative Council. He will have ample time to tour the state and partake in government works.”

He also said Congress kept social justice in mind when considering leaders from minorities and BCs as candidates.

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More candidates

Congress also named Karnataka Youth Congress former president Basanagouda Badarli as a nominee for the forthcoming Legislative Council by-polls.

The seat he has been named from fell vacant after former chief minister Jagadish Shettar not only tendered his resignation as an MLC but also quit the grand old party and returned to BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Badarli is the nephew of Sindhanur MLA Hampanagouda Badarli.

On condition of anonymity, the minister said: “Basanagouda was an aspirant for the Koppal Lok Sabha seat ticket, but the party instead gave it to Rajashekar Hitnal. He also served as the party’s youth-wing president.”

He added: “The party had promised to accommodate him in future. Hence, he has been given the ticket.”

The Congress leader also noted: “He also belongs to the Lingayat Reddy community. The party has stressed social justice to ensure that all the major communities have representation.”