Only one ticket per person, declares D K Shivakumar

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Friday said only one ticket will be given per person to contest the upcoming Assembly election.

“Whoever it may be, there’ll be just one ticket,” Shivakumar said. “Everybody must work with unity. Party is important, not individuals.”

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With this declaration, Shivakumar has virtually spiked any plans his party colleagues, especially Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, might have to contest from two seats.

“The party must come to power first. Once that happens, everybody will get power,” Shivakumar said. He was responding to a question on ticket aspirants queuing up outside his and Siddaramaiah’s offices to lobby.

Shivakumar’s stand on ‘one person, one ticket’ is relevant at a time when Siddaramaiah, who wants a second term as chief minister if Congress comes to power, is said to be indecisive on where he should contest the 2023 Assembly election from.

In the 2018 election, Siddaramaiah was the incumbent chief minister when he decided to contest from two constituencies - Chamundeshwari and Badami. He lost Chamundeshwari badly but managed to win Badami by a narrow margin of 1,696 votes.

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This time, Siddaramaiah is said to be scouting for a ‘safe’ seat and his options include Badami, Kolar, and his earlier Varuna (now represented by his son Dr. Yathindra).

The Congress had invited applications from ticket aspirants. The party has received 1,350 applications, generating a revenue of at least ₹23 crore.

“We need funds to prepare for elections, especially to have district and block offices. We need money to give to party workers to set up these offices,” Shivakumar said.

The Congress is slated to hold day-long meetings with ticket applicants on Friday.