Congmen 'prefer' Rajeev Gowda to SMK for Rajya Sabha polls

Former external affairs minister and octogenarian S M Krishna has to compete with much younger partyman Rajeev Gowda to get the ticket to contest Rajya Sabha elections.

The party is said to be in favour of fielding Gowda, who is AICC spokesperson, IIM-B professor and son of former Legislative Assembly Speaker M V Venkatappa. The party is most likely to field B K Hariprasad for one more seat. With the JD(S) fielding Kupendra Reddy, the Congress may not try to compete for the third seat in the Rajya Sabha. But there was no official confirmation on the candidates. The Congress, by virtue of its strength in the Legislative Assembly, can win at least two Rajya Sabha seats and four council seats.

Though Monday is the last day for filing nomination papers, the Congress had not announced its candidates till late on Sunday evening. Sources in the party said that there were not many supporters when the candidature of Krishna was discussed at the highest level in the party. Many State Congress leaders, who had shown their allegiance to Krishna, did not take up his cause, it is said.

Rajeev Gowda had made a futile attempt to become the Lok Sabha candidate from Bangalore North. AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi chose to select a candidate through internal elections and C Narayanswamy, chosen through the ballot, lost the polls to D V Sadananda Gowda of the BJP.

For Council seats, names of KPCC chief G Parameshwara, H M Revanna, Jayamma Balaraju and N S Boseraju were making rounds till late on Sunday evening. It is said that the party shortlisted candidates to file nomination papers, but the State leaders were clueless. 

Parameshwara, who lost the Assembly election from Koratagere in 2013, has been trying to become a member of the Upper House. He is also nurturing the ambition to become a minister. Revanna, who belongs to Kuruba community, is a close confidant of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Jayamma is the vice president of Chitradurga Zilla Panchayat and has been chosen as she belongs to Yadava community. The party did not have a leader belonging to Yadava community after the exit of A Krishnappa from the party in 2013. Boseraju, who is a former MLA, is likely to be made MLC as a reward for his contribution to strengthening the organisation.