Daijiworld Media Network (SHS)

New Delhi, Mar 13: The Congress party on Thursday March 13 released the much anticipated second list of candidates, putting to rest most of the speculation surrounding the candidature of senior leaders.

Union minister and sitting MP of Chikkaballapur Dr M Veerappa Moily who was dropped in the first list of candidates has found a place in the second list. It had earlier been speculated that considering the tough competition in this constituency, Moily had been reluctant to contest here and that actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi might take his place.

Rizwan, Moily

Another name in the list is that of former union minister Janardhan Poojary, who won the primary from Dakshina Kannada constituency.

AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s emphasis on youth and women empowerment seems to have played a major role in deciding the second list. Of the 71 names in the list, one-third of the candidates are youths and 11 are women. In a bid to induct new faces, veteran leader Jaffer Sharief lost the Bangalore Central ticket to Rizwan Arshad.

The second list of candidates from Karnataka is as follows:

Veerappa Moily - Chikkaballapur
Janardhan Poojary - Dakshina Kannada
Rizwan Arshad - Bangalore Central
B V Vinayak - Raichur
Chandrappa - Chitradurga
Prakash Hukkeri - Chikkodi
Lakshmi Hebbalkar - Belgaum
Basavaraj Hitnal - Koppal
Manjunath Bhandari - Shimoga
Ajay Kumar Saranayak - Bagalkot