Cong workers vandalise party office in protest

Angry over ticket distribution for Karnataka polls…

The Congress workers on Monday vandalised the party office in Madya to protest against the distribution of tickets for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.

As soon as the Congress party released its first list of 218 candidates for the upcoming Karnataka polls on April 15, the party workers turned furious over the decision, particularly those name were not listed in the first list.

The party's chief ministerial candidate Siddaramaiah will contest from the Chamundeshwari constituency.

Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yatheendra will contest from Varuna constituency.

Karnataka Home Minister R Ramalinga Reddy will contest from BTM Layout, while his daughter Sowmya Reddy will contest from Jayanagar. The Congress is yet to release candidate list for five seats. Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 to elect its representatives for the 225-member assembly. The results will be out on May 15.

With most of those who switched sides getting tickets, it is seen as consolidation of Siddaramaiah's position within the party, as party veterans like Mallikarjuna Kharge, Veerappa Moily and KPCC chief G Parameshwara were seen opposed to it, preferring long time party workers.

Issuing tickets to party hoppers, including seven rebel JDS MLAs and controversial businessman of BangaloreMysore Infrastructure Corridor project Ashok Kheny, was reported to be a thorny issue while selecting candidates, with Siddaramaiah said to be standing strongly in their favour.