Congress President Rahul Gandhi approved a 70-member campaign committee headed by Karnataka Power Minister DK Shivakumar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
The announcement was made by the KPCC Working President G Parameshwara. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will also be a member of the committee, which brings together senior Congress leaders of the state ahead of the elections to be held in May this year. Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, is also a member of the committee.
The committee comprises former PCC presidents, chiefs of the party’s organisations, AICC office-bearers and members of parliament from both houses.
A survey, conducted ahead of the upcoming state Assembly polls, found the Congress ahead of its nearest rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah still a popular choice for the chief ministerial berth.
The survey showed CM Siddaramaiah drawing 34% approval ratings, with respondents saying they would like him to continue in his post ahead of BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa (10%) and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy.
The Congress is yet to announce a chief ministerial candidate and there are plenty of leaders vying for the spot. According to party insiders, Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara and Mallikarjun Kharge are the major contenders for the post.
Power Minister Shivakumar, who has been named the head of the campaign committee for the upcoming polls, is also considered by many to be a contender for the chief ministerial berth.
Unlike the Congress, the BJP has already announced that veteran leader and former chief minister Yeddyurappa is their chief ministerial candidate from the state. He is currently travelling across Karnataka with the party’s Parivartana Yatra which kicked off on November 2.
The latest BJP rally in Mysuru, where party National President Amit Shah spoke, was delayed due to a state-wide bandh over the Mahadayi river water dispute