Cong. candidates for 100 remaining seats by March-end: Reddy
The Hindu
Cong. candidates for 100 remaining seats by March-end: Reddy
Senior Congress leader and former Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Saturday said the Congress candidates for the remaining 100 seats would be announced soon after the party meeting on Monday. “By March-end, the party’s candidates for 224 seats will be announced,” he said in Mysuru on Saturday.
Mr. Reddy, who took part in the inauguration of Karnataka Mahila Congress meeting here, said Varuna MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah may get an opportunity to contest the next year’s Lok Sabha election or the Legislative Council polls if he doesn’t get a chance to contest the ensuing Assembly polls with the ticket for Varuna announced to former CM Siddaramaiah.
Reacting to the announcement of candidates for 124 seats, he said the second list will be released after the screening committee meeting. “It is left to the high command to decide whether Mr. Siddaramaiah would contest from two seats, including Varuna,” he replied.
He expressed doubts over free and fair elections and suggested bringing back the ballot paper voting system.
He described as a hasty decision the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as MP. “The country’s party leaders and lakhs of party workers are with Mr. Rahul Gandhi,” he said, accusing the BJP of engaging in “revenge politics”.
All India Mahila Congress president Netta D’Souza, who inaugurated the Mahila Congress meet here on Saturday to discuss the ensuing elections, said the BJP was trying to stifle the voice of Mr. Rahul Gandhi.
A signature campaign will be launched against the BJP’s “political revenge” against Mr. Gandhi, she added.