The Congress has finally decided to field KV Gowtham from Kolar Lok Sabha constituency. With this announcement on Saturday, March 30, the Congress has announced the full list of candidates for the upcoming elections. Gowtham is the president of the Congress’s Bengaluru district committee.
The selection process was not without its share of controversies, as various factions within the party, including one led by Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa and dissenting legislators, debated over the candidacy.
High drama ensued when five legislators, including Karnataka Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar, Kolar MLA Kothur Manjunath, Malur MLA KY Nanjegowda, and MLCs Naseer Ahmed and Anil Kumar, arrived at Vidhana Soudha, threatening to resign from their positions. Their objection stemmed from the proposed nomination of Chikka Peddanna, son-in-law of Minister Muniyappa, who belongs to the SC ‘left' community. The legislators argued that the SC-reserved constituency had a larger population of the SC ‘right' community, demanding a candidate from that group. It's noteworthy that Gowtham himself is a member of the SC ‘left' community.