B.K.Hariprasad, Congress choice for Bengaluru South in Lok Sabha polls
2 min read 24 Mar 2019, 08:52 PM IST65 year old Hariprasad will have his task cut out for him as the Congress last won this seat in 1989BJP is yet to make its choice formal even though the party claimed to have convinced Tejaswini Ashwini Kumar to fight the polls
PremiumBENGALURU : The Congress party on Sunday named incumbent Rajya Sabha member B.K.Hariprasad as it's choice for the Bengaluru South constituency, ending the uncertainty over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dominated seat.
65 year old Hariprasad will have his task cut out for him as the Congress last won this seat in 1989.
However, the BJP is yet to make its choice formal even though the party claimed to have convinced Tejaswini Ashwini Kumar, wife of former union minister Ananth Kumar, to fight the polls.
The delay by the BJP in announcing its choice for Bengaluru South adding to reports that the party remains undecided on if it should field Tejaswini.
Having won 15 out of the 28 assembly seats in Bengaluru, the Congress has its best chance to wrest the three parliamentary seats from the clutches of the BJP. Bengaluru North has gone to the Janata Dal (Secular) as part of the seat sharing agreement between the coalition partners. D.V. Sadananda Gowda is the BJP's choice from the north seat while sitting MP P.C. Mohan has been named as it's candidate from central. Rizwan Arshad is the Congress choice for Bengaluru Central.
Congress minister Krishna Byre Gowda was one of the options for the north seat but the former clarified that he will not be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be commence from the second week of April.
The Congress-JD(S) coalition is hoping that it's alliance helps bring down the prime minister Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the centre.
But the coalition has been staring at several problems threatening not only its prospects in the upcoming polls but also its 10 month old alliance in the state.
Workers of the two parties have been rebelling against the thought of having to work with each other considering the bloody and violent past they share, especially in south Karnataka.
Even senior leaders have revolted at the alliance arrangement, which they believe has overlooked the interests of its own workers.
S.P. Muddahanumegowda, the sitting MP from Tumakuru has announced that he would file his nomination as the Congress candidate despite the fact the the seat has been given to the JD(S) as part of the coalition arrangement. Former PM H.D.Deve Gowda has announced his candidature from this seat and is likely to face stiff resistance from local Comgress workers. Both Deve Gowda and
Muddahanumegowda are scheduled to file their nominations on Monday.
