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Former Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah found himself in the middle of a controversy after he announced the names of five “candidates” for next year’s Assembly elections. The party’s state unit chief DK Shivakumar shut down any discussion of Siddaramaiah announcing the candidates, saying only the All India Congress Committee – the party’s central decision-making body – is authorized to announce the names of the candidates.
Addressing a crowd in Karnataka’s Koppal district, Siddaramaiah named some candidates and urged people to vote for them next year. “All your votes should be given to Shivaraj Thangadi in Kanakagiri, Vasavaraj Rayreddy in Yelburga, Iqbal Ansari in Gangavati, Raghavendra Hitnal in Koppal and Ameregowda Byapuri in Kushtagi,” he said.
Siddaramaiah announcing the names of the candidates fueled rumors of a rift with Shivakumar, who had earlier said that any Congress member aspiring to be nominated could pay an application fee and submit the necessary documents, after which tickets would be allotted based on a transparent process.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Shivakumar said, “Nobody, including me, has the right to announce the names of the candidates. He (Siddaramaiah) should have said it to encourage the (potential) candidates in the region to work hard.”
“There is a procedure in the Congress while deciding on the final candidates and only the AICC is authorized to announce the names of the candidates in the contest,” he said.
The southern state will vote for a new government next year, as will a host of others across the country, including Congress-ruled Rajasthan and parts of India’s northeast.
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