Karnataka Minister's Son-in-Law Snubbed for Kolar Lok Sabha Seat
By : MB Girish
Update: 2024-03-30 15:57 GMT
BENGALURU: While many Congress Ministers succeeded in securing tickets for their children to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, the dreams of Minister for Food and Civil Supplies K.H. Muniyappa to field his son-in-law, Chikka Peddanna, from the Kolar parliamentary seat were dashed after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) chose Gowtham, son of former Mayor of Bangalore City Corporation and now Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Vijaykumar, to run from Kolar, a reserved seat for Scheduled Castes.
Sowmya Reddy, daughter of Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy, is contesting from Bengaluru South; Sagar Khandre, son of Minister for Forests Eshwar Khandre, is contesting from Bidar; Samyuta Patil, daughter of the Minister for Textiles, is in the fray from the Bagalkot seat; and Sunil Bose, son of Minister for Social Welfare Dr H.C. Mahadevappa, is contesting from Chamarajanagar, a reserved seat for SCs.
Muniyappa's son-in-law missed out on the Congress ticket after opposition from Minister for Higher Education Dr M.C. Sudhakar, MLAs Nanje Gowda and Kothnur Manjunath, MLCs Naseer Ahmed and Anil Kumar, who opposed the candidature of Chikka Peddanna and threatened to resign from their posts if Muniyappa's son-in-law was fielded from the Kolar seat.
Minister Sudhakar and his allies, who revolted against the party’s decision to field Chikka Peddanna, alleged that Muniyappa is a Minister and his daughter Roopakala is an MLA representing the Kolar Gold Fields Assembly seat in Kolar, and there is no need to field another member from the Muniyappa family.
The dissenting leaders demanded that the Lok Sabha seat should be given to a SC (Right wing) leader, who forms a major chunk of voters in the Kolar Lok Sabha seat. Bowing to pressure from the 5 MLAs who revolted against the candidature, the AICC changed its decision and chose Gowtham.
Minister for Food and Civil Supplies K.H. Muniyappa told reporters that he was not disappointed by the denial of the ticket to his son-in-law and would abide by the decision of the party. He also assured to work for the success of the party's nominee not only in Kolar but also in Chikkaballapura Lok Sabha and elsewhere in the State.
In the past, Muniyappa, belonging to SC (Left wing), had represented the Kolar Lok Sabha seat from 1991 to 2019 before he was defeated in the 2019 election by BJP nominee Muniswamy. Muniyappa shifted to State politics in 20023 and contested the Devanahalli Assembly seat to become a Minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet.
Kolar Congress nominee Gowtham exuded confidence in winning over all the disgruntled leaders in Kolar and hoped that these leaders would strive for the success of the party in the Kolar seat.
President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that he had spoken to the disgruntled leaders and there is no space for groupism in the Congress party. The leaders who staged a revolt against the party’s decision apologized for their attitude and gave in writing, assuring they would strive for the success of the party nominee.
Now, the party has fielded a youngster and a new face in Kolar, said the DyCM.
Muniyappa's son-in-law missed out on the Congress ticket after opposition from Minister for Higher Education Dr M.C. Sudhakar, MLAs Nanje Gowda and Kothnur Manjunath, MLCs Naseer Ahmed and Anil Kumar, who opposed the candidature of Chikka Peddanna and threatened to resign from their posts if Muniyappa's son-in-law was fielded from the Kolar seat.
Minister Sudhakar and his allies, who revolted against the party’s decision to field Chikka Peddanna, alleged that Muniyappa is a Minister and his daughter Roopakala is an MLA representing the Kolar Gold Fields Assembly seat in Kolar, and there is no need to field another member from the Muniyappa family.
The dissenting leaders demanded that the Lok Sabha seat should be given to a SC (Right wing) leader, who forms a major chunk of voters in the Kolar Lok Sabha seat. Bowing to pressure from the 5 MLAs who revolted against the candidature, the AICC changed its decision and chose Gowtham.
Minister for Food and Civil Supplies K.H. Muniyappa told reporters that he was not disappointed by the denial of the ticket to his son-in-law and would abide by the decision of the party. He also assured to work for the success of the party's nominee not only in Kolar but also in Chikkaballapura Lok Sabha and elsewhere in the State.
In the past, Muniyappa, belonging to SC (Left wing), had represented the Kolar Lok Sabha seat from 1991 to 2019 before he was defeated in the 2019 election by BJP nominee Muniswamy. Muniyappa shifted to State politics in 20023 and contested the Devanahalli Assembly seat to become a Minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet.
Kolar Congress nominee Gowtham exuded confidence in winning over all the disgruntled leaders in Kolar and hoped that these leaders would strive for the success of the party in the Kolar seat.
President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that he had spoken to the disgruntled leaders and there is no space for groupism in the Congress party. The leaders who staged a revolt against the party’s decision apologized for their attitude and gave in writing, assuring they would strive for the success of the party nominee.
Now, the party has fielded a youngster and a new face in Kolar, said the DyCM.