Congress’ list of 17 Lok Sabha candidates for Karnataka features children of 5 ministers

Polling will be held in two phases in Karnataka, on 26 April and 7 May.

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Five ministers’ children to debut in Lok Sabha polls

Among the children of five Cabinet ministers is Mrunal Hebbalkar, son of Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar, who is contesting from Belagavi.

Minister for Public Works Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi will be the candidate from Chikkodi.

Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter and former MLA Sowmya Reddy will contest from Bangalore South.

Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre’s son Sagar Khandre is the candidate from Bidar.

Minister for Sugar and Textiles Shivananda Patil’s daughter has been fielded from Bagalkot.

Only Sowmya Reddy has prior experience in electoral politics, and the remaining four representatives will contest the elections for the first time.

KPCC chief and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru: “In my 40-year political career, it is for the first time I am witnessing so many youth, women and new faces for the Lok Sabha elections. I am confident that they will emerge victorious in this election and flourish as leaders in the future.”

He said the party left no section out. “We have given tickets to party workers, too. We have given it to those party workers who have demonstrated zeal and determination.”

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Other Congress candidates

Former Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar will be contesting from Uttara Kannada. She used to represent Belagavi’s Khanapur assembly seat, but she failed to win it in the 2023 assembly polls.

Prabha Mallikarjun, wife of Minister for Mines and Geology SS Mallikarjunhas, will fight from Davanagere. She is also the daughter-in-law of veteran politician and MLA Shamanur Shivashankrappa.

Congress MLA Raghavendra Hitnal’s brother Rajashekar Hitnal will contest from Koppal. He lost the 2019 parliament election from this seat.

Former MP Dr Jayaprakash Hegde, also chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, will be fighting from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat. Vinod Asooti is the candidate from Dharwad.

The Bangalore North ticket has gone to Professor MV Rajeev Gowda, chairman of the State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka.

KPCC Working President BN Chandrappa will contest from Chitradurga (SC), and KPCC spokesperson M Lakshman is the candidate from Mysore.

Rajya Sabha’s former Deputy Chairman, K Rahamat Khan’s son, AICC Secretary Mansoor Ali Khan, will contest from Bangalore Central. Padmaraj will contest from Dakshina Kannada.

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Kharge not to contest

Notably, AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna will be contesting from Gulbarga (SC). This puts an end to the speculations over Kharge’s candidature.

On anonymity, a senior minister told South First: “The party has considered various factors, including surveys and caste equations while finalising the candidates. We collected the opinions of the local MLAs and party leaders in all the seats.”

The minister said about Mallikarjun Kharge’s candidature, “On the high command’s instructions, Kharge will not be contesting in the parliament elections. Considering Radhakrishna’s rapport and image among the public in Kalaburagi, the party felt he was the right candidate to take on the BJP. Anjali contests from Uttara Kannada, where Marathas are dominant, and she hails from the same community.”

He disagreed that the ministers’ children were political novices. “The ministers’ children making their debut have prior political experience as they have worked at various levels in the party organisation. The party believes we can win around 18 to 20 seats in Karnataka.”