Winnable candidates fielded, not backing family politics, says Siddaramaiah

Davangere: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed on Monday that the Congress was not encouraging family politics by giving the ticket to the grandson of veteran Congress leader, the late Shamanur Shivashankarappa, in the byelection to the Davangere South seat.

He was reacting to criticism in this regard, while speaking to reporters here, after Congress nominee Samarth Shamanur Mallikarjuna filed his nomination papers.

The CM defended the move, saying, “We have issued tickets to winnable candidates in the bypolls”. Siddaramaiah said, “It has been a practice to field family members of bereaved legislators in the bypolls.”

Earlier, he told reporters at the helipad where he landed in a chopper from Bengaluru with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, that party leaders would try to assuage the feelings of Muslim leaders in the Congress, who are upset with the denial of ticket to the community from Davangere South.

Party leaders would convince rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the fray, Siddaramaiah added.

He said Muslim leaders would be given better representation in the government in the coming days.

The CM said the Congress had defeated the sons of former chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and H D Kumaraswamy in byelections in the past. So, defeating BJP in the bypolls this time was not difficult, he said.

Siddaramaiah claimed that the minorities, backward classes and the poor were with the Congress as the party’s government had delivered on the promises made during the Assembly elections.

Meanwhile, BJP candidate T Srinivasa Dasakariappa filed nomination papers with former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, former minister M P Renukacharya, former union minister G M Siddeshwara and former MLA of JD(S), H S Shivashankar

Speaking on the occasion, Yediyurappa exuded confidence that BJP would win the bypolls.