Bangalore: Udupi-Chikmagalur Victory Spurs Cong to Gear up for Assembly Polls
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Mar 31: The resounding victory scored by former minister K Jayaprakash Hegde in the just concluded Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha by-election in snatching the seat held by the Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda with double the margin of votes has spurred the Opposition Congress into galvanise itself for the ensuing elections to the State Assembly next year.
``We have decided to embark on a state-wide tour to gear up for the ensuing electoral battle to mobilise party workers and identify winnable candidates in all the 224 constituencies,” announced Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Dr G Parameshwar.
Taking a leap for the poll plank of ushering in change that the US President Barak Obama had adopted to oust the Republican Party from power, Dr Parameshwara said the Congress party’s state-wide campaign has been named as "Congressige Banni – Badalavane Tanni” (Come to Congress – Bring About Change.”
The main objective of the campaign was to expose the BJP Government’s involvement in corruption and land denotification scandals and pursuit of anti-poor and anti-farmer policies, the KPCC chief said stating that the tour would go on for nearly five months and cover all 224 Assembly constituencies in the State.
Addressing reporters before felicitating newly elected party MP, K Jayaprakash Hegde, Dr Parameshwara said the campaign would be launched on April 9 at Gollarahatti (on Magadi Road) in Yeshwanthpur constituency in the city.
Along with State Congress leaders, Union Ministers from Karnataka – S M Krishna, Mallikarjun Kharge, M Veerappa Moily and Union Minister for State for Railways K H Muniyappa – will participate in the programme.
The party would hold campaigns in Turuvakere and Tiptur in Tumkur on April 9, in Chikkanayakanahalli and Gubbi on April 10, in Madhugiri and Koratagere on April 11 and Tumkur Rural and Tumkur City on April 12, he said.
KPCC Names 6 Candidates for Council Polls
The KPCC President named six candidates for election for three graduates and three teachers’ constituencies.
The term of three members elected to the Legislative Council from graduates’ constituencies and three members from teachers' constituencies would end on June 21.
Dr Parameshwara said the party has decided to field S P Dinesh from south-west graduates’ constituency; Ramojam from Bangalore graduates constituency; and Shivanand Bhimalli from north-east graduates constituency.
The Congress party will field M Lakshmana from south teachers constituency; K B Ramalingappa from south-east teachers constituency, and Hosur Ramesh Joyappa from south-west teachers constituency, he said.
Though the tenure of 20 MLCs would come to end in May and June, three of them will be nominated by the Government while elections are to be held for the remaining 17 seats.