Karnataka Congress Picks By-Poll Candidates, Ends Ticket Speculation

Speaking to the media at his residence in Sadashivanagar, he said, "I, Chief Minister, Zameer Ahmed, Naseer Hussain, Saleem Ahmed, Hussain, Harris, Jabbar and all minority leaders discussed the matter with the AICC Secretary and arrived at a unanimous decision to give the opportunity to the Shamanur family. We have decided to contest unitedly and win both constituencies."

"The B-Form has been handed over to the candidate's father, SS Mallikarjuna. On Monday, the Chief Minister and I will go to Davanagere and Bagalkote to participate in the nomination filing event. The speculations in the media about ticket allocation have now been put to rest. The high command communicated the decision late at night," he said.

"A legislative party meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday. AICC Secretary will also participate in the meeting," he added.

When asked whether the minority community was satisfied, he said, "There is nothing wrong with them in asking for a ticket. They are asking based on population; they are not wrong. Mallikarjuna said he filed his nomination on an auspicious date. Just as we have faith, so do they. He has said that if the party asks, he will withdraw. Samarth's mother, Prabha Mallikarjuna, also did not initially want to contest for the parliamentary seat; she was persuaded to. Mallikarjuna also did not want to, initially. Now he is growing into an asset of the party," he said.

When asked whether the minority community had placed any demands, he said: "They do ask. Mallikarjuna is committed to whatever the party says. So am I. If I am told not to contest from Kanakapura, I won't."

When asked whether the confusion in the minority community has been resolved, he said, "Aspiring is not wrong. Personally, I wanted to give the ticket to Mallikarjuna in the Meti family. Another daughter, who is a Zilla Panchayat member, had also asked for a ticket. A total of four people from within the same family had asked for the ticket. When there is desire within a family itself, others will also have it. Several names had come up for Bagalkote as well."

When asked about the BJP and JD(S) fielding minority candidates, he said, "I know, all these efforts are going on. In politics, they create divisions, and so do we. Do they have a consensus among themselves? Because two people quarrelled, they gave the ticket to a third person. Why should I discuss that? That is their party's decision; this is ours."

When asked whether the Opposition's candidates are strong, he said, "Ours is ours, theirs is theirs. I am not going to discuss other parties' decisions. Let them field whoever they want."

"The service and development work done by Shivashankarappa for Davanagere is excellent. Davanagere is better than Bengaluru, I have seen it personally. He has provided drinking water, houses for the poor, and built educational institutions. He has served for the past 40 years. The Shamanur family has stood by the Congress party from the very beginning," he said.

When asked about the grievance that Shivashankarappa had promised to give the ticket to the Muslim community after him, and that promise is not being honoured, he said: "They may have expressed that grievance to you, not to us. That is precisely why we have made Jabbar an MLC three times. The same Shivashankarappa made Jabbar an MLC during SM Krishna's time and during Siddaramaiah's tenure. Alternative arrangements are made from time to time. We gave the Council seat to Saleem from Dharwad instead of Mane; wasn't that an alternative arrangement?

- ANI