According to a press release issued by AICC media department head M Veerappa Moily, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge will be chairman of the Pradesh Election Committee while AICC’s Karnataka in-charge Prithviraj Chavan will be chairman of the “co-ordination committee”.

The names of the members of the four committees would be announced shortly, Moily said.

Double trouble
While Krishna’s and Siddaramaiah’s appointment as chairman of campaign committee were expected, what surprised observers was the two similarly-sounding co-ordination committees, headed by Krishna and Chavan. A senior Congress Working Committee member, however, did not want to get into the issue saying that it would be left to the chairmen of the respective panels to work out their functions.

Krishna has thus managed to become the chairman of a committee despite stiff opposition from his senior party colleagues. The post will give him a platform to make his presence felt in the party decision-making, sources close to the former chief minister said.

Of the four panels, Kharge heads the crucial election committee which is primarily tasked with the selection of candidates for the forthcoming Assembly elections, likely to take place in May.