Option open for CM to contest from Badami too: Cong

Top Congress leaders from the state and the AICC on Monday held threadbare discussions on 100 Assembly seats falling in Belagavi and Myusru revenue divisions, identifying the party's strength and weaknesses in each constituency.

Congress sources said the option of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah contesting from two seats Badami and Chamundeshwari was still open.

"Leaders from north Karnataka feel that chief minister contesting from north Karnataka would add more energy to the campaign," a senior leader told DH.

However, a final decision in this regard would be taken by the Central Election Committee of the party, which is expected to meet either on Wednesday or Thursday.

Madhusudan Mistry, the chairman of the Screening Committee, held marathon discussions with the Chief Minister, the KPCC President G Parameshwara and senior leader D K Shivakumar among others.

Earlier, in the day KPCC working presidents Dinesh Gundu Rao and S R Patil, Industries Minister R V Deshpande, former Union minister K H Muniyappa also met Mistry and discussed the political situation in their respective regions.

The first list of candidates is expected to be released before April 15, a source said,

The Screening Committee is expected to meet at 10:30 am on Tuesday and the deliberations on the remaining seats are expected to continue throughout the day. Senior leaders from Karnataka, including the Congress floor leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge and former chief minister M Veerappa Moily are expected to join the deliberations on Tuesday.

The first list likely to comprise 130 to 140 names, mostly of sitting MLAs and MLAs from other parties who joined the Congress recently, may be released in a day or two, the sources said.

They also discussed giving tickets to children of senior leaders in some of the segments, the sources said.

The leaders are likely to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening and discuss the candidates and poll strategy, the sources added.