Congress vs Congress Over Key Karnataka Seat, 5 Legislators Threaten To Quit

Five legislators from the party, including a minister, have threatened to resign over the former MP from the seat pushing for his son-in-law to be named the candidate.

From a point where it was reportedly struggling to get ministers and lawmakers to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka, the Congress has now found itself facing a problem of plenty as well as a public feud in the prestige constituency of Kolar. Five legislators from the party, including a minister, have threatened to resign over the former MP from the seat pushing for his son-in-law to be named the candidate.  

The tussle has brought factionalism in the Congress out in the open in Karnataka, where the party is hoping to do well this time. In the last Lok Sabha elections, it had managed to get its candidate elected in just one of the 28 seats in the state and had also lost Kolar, where it had won every single time - barring one - since the first general elections in 1952. 

Since 1991, the constituency was won by KH Muniyappa, who is now the food and civil supplies minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet and is seeking a ticket for his son-in-law Chikka Peddanna. Even though the party has not announced the candidate yet, three MLAs from Kolar district, including a minister, and two members of the legislative council (MLCs) have already threatened to resign over the proposed move.