Karnataka polls: Congress in bind over selection of 47 candidates

BANGALORE: Opposition Congress is facing difficulty in finalising 47 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections in the backdrop of intense lobbying by senior party leaders in the high-stake polls.

The principal opposition in Karnataka, which sees prospects of dislodging the BJP government by putting up a united front, announced a list of 177 candidates last Friday.

The party, however, is finding it extremely hard to zero in on nominees in the remaining 47 segments.

In addition to tug-of-war over other seats, the issue of allotting tickets to sons of Labour Minister M Mallikarjuna Kharge, former CM N Dharam Singh and daughter of MSME Minister K H Muniyappa has added to the party's woes. The decision has now been left to party president Sonia Gandhi.

As Karnataka is the first major state to go to polls after Rahul Gandhi became the Congress Vice-President, the party seems to take extra care to see that there are no wrong choices as far as selection of candidates is concerned.

Nevertheless, there have been rumblings after the first list, with those who lost out crying foul.