Congress announces first list of 124 candidates for Karnataka assembly elections

The Congress party on Saturday announced its first list of 124 candidates for upcoming Karnataka assembly elections due in May.

“Here is the first list of Congress candidates finalised by the CEC for the forthcoming Karnataka assembly elections,” the party said on Twitter, sharing a list of the candidates.

Names of former chief minister and leader of opposition Siddaramaiah, and state party president DK Shivakumar are present in the first list. The party has decided to field the former CM from the Varuna assembly seat in Mysuru, which is his home constituency, and KPCC chief DK Shivakumar from Kanakapura.

READ | Siddaramaiah indicates he may contest from home segment Varuna and one more seat

“The CEC has selected the following persons as Congress candidates for the forthcoming elections to the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka,” the AICC press release said.

Other names in the list included Congress leaders Satish Jarkiholi from Yemkanmardi, Lakshmi Hebbalkar from Belgaum Rural, Priyank Kharge from Chitapur, Rizwan Arshad from Shivajinagar, Dinesh Gundu Rao from Gandhinagar, Tanveer Sait from Narasimharaja, BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan from Chamrajpet, former deputy CM G Parameshwara from Koratagere and former minister KH Muniappa from Devanahalli, among others.

The party’s Central Election Committee (CEC), chaired by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, cleared the first list of candidates after a meeting held in Delhi on March 17, along with notable leaders like Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress is the second party to release its candidates’ list for the crucial elections in Karnataka after the Aam Aadmi Party, which released its first list, comprising 80 candidates, on Monday.

The Election Commission is yet to announce the dates for the assembly polls.