K H Muniyappa among 3 ministers in Congress ticket shortlist

At least three ministers and one retired IAS officer have made it to the Congress’ shortlist of ticket aspirants for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. 

Food & Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa is on the shortlist for Kolar, a seat he has represented seven times. Youth Empowerment & Sports Minister B Nagendra is being considered for Bellary. Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s confidant, is on the shortlist for Chamarajanagar. 

The Congress is said to be exploring giving the Raichur ticket to 1990-batch IAS officer G Kumar Naik, who retired late last year. 

In Davangere, Horticulture Minister SS Mallikarjun’s wife Prabha Mallikarjun’s name is leading, sources said. 

While there is no clarity on candidates for the three Bengaluru seats, former Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda is positioning himself as the ticket aspirant for Bangalore North. “I am the strongest candidate for Congress in this seat,” Gowda, who is the vice-chairperson of the State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka, said. 

Karnataka Congress working president BN Chandrappa is the ticket aspirant at Chitradurga, a seat he has represented before. 

For Hassan, 31-year-old Shreyas Patel, who lost to senior JD(S) leader HD Revanna by just 3,152 votes in Holenarsipur, is on the shortlist. 

In Tumkur, the Congress is said to be counting on S P Muddahanumegowda, who may return to the party from the BJP. 

In Dakshina Kannada, former minister Vinaykumar Sorake or Ramanath Rai may get the ticket, sources said. 

Apparently, former MLA Anjali Nimbalkar is being considered for the Uttara Kannada ticket. Earlier, she was MLA of the Khanapur constituency that comes under the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha segment. 

While former Karnataka Youth Congress president Raksha Ramaiah is widely believed to get the Chikkaballapur ticket, it may also be ex-minister N H Shivashankar Reddy.