This is not dynastic politics but recognizing people’s views, said Siddaramaiah (File)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said giving tickets to the children and relatives of ministers is not a dynastic policy but an acknowledgment of the voters’ recommendation.
In its second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on March 21 announced that it would field the son-in-law of its national president M Mallikarjun Kharge and the children of five ministers in Karnataka.
“Yes, we gave that. We have given tickets to those recommended by the people of the constituency. This is not dynastic politics but recognizing people’s views,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
He was responding to a question about 10 relatives and relatives of Karnataka ministers who were given tickets on behalf of the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections.
Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani will be in the fray from the Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) Lok Sabha constituency.
PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi will contest from Chikkodi.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Sowmya Reddy will contest against BJP’s incumbent MP Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South.
Textiles Minister Shivanand Patil’s daughter Samyukta S Patil from Bagalkot, Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s son Mrinal Hebbalkar from Belgaum (Belagavi) and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s son Sagar Khandre from Bidar.
Former Rajya Sabha vice-chairman K Rahman Khan’s son Mansoor Ali Khan has been drafted from Bangalore Central and Minister SS Mallikarjun’s wife Prabha Mallikarjun is in the fray from Davangere.
The chief minister said the party will release the list of candidates for the four remaining constituencies in Karnataka within a day or two.
To a question about the party facing a ‘knotty problem’ in the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency, the Chief Minister said, “We do not have any ‘knotty problem’ nor any conflict.” Because we don’t want to release the list at once, we will do it later.” Siddaramaiah was confident that the Congress would win at least 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
He said he will not lie like the BJP, which says it will win all 28 seats in Karnataka, which he said was not possible.
To a question whether the BJP and JD(S) alliance will create problems for the Congress, Siddaramaiah said, “That (alliance) will favor us.” When asked to explain how the alliance will work for Congress, he said certain secrets cannot be revealed.
The Prime Minister said he was confident that the five guarantees launched by his government will definitely help the party win the elections.
“We have spent Rs 36,000 crore this year. For the next fiscal, we will set aside Rs 52,900 crore. We don’t lie like the BJP. We are implementing what we promised,” Siddaramaiah said.
Noting that his party is dependent on its performance in the elections, the Chief Minister said people trust his government unlike the BJP, which lies and never fulfills its promises.
“In the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP made 600 promises but failed to fulfill even 10 percent. Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi give you Rs 15 lakh? Created two million jobs, doubled farmers’ incomes and brought ‘Achche’ Din’. Why will people trust him?’ he said.
Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats and the state goes to polls in two phases: April 26 and May 7.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by WhatsNew2Day staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)