Congress today released the much awaited second set of 40 candidates for the May 5 Assembly elections in Karnataka, giving tickets to sons of senior party leaders M Mallikarjuna Kharge and N Dharam Singh and two independents.
The second list included replacement of two candidates from the first one of 177 nominees announced on April five. Congress has to announce names for the remaining nine segments. Polling would be held for 224 Assembly seats in Karnataka. The last day for filing nominations is April 17.
MSME Minister K H Muniyappa failed to get ticket for his daughter Roopa Shashidhar from KGF, where the party has now fielded Shankar V.
Priyank Kharge and Ajay Singh would contest from Chittapur and Jewargi respectively.
The party has also decided to support independents D Sudhakar (Hiriyur) and P M Narendraswamy (Malavalli), ignoring protests by some local party leaders in those constituencies.
Rajya Sabha member Anil Lad would contest from Bellary city, while senior leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa would enter the fray from Davangere South.
C S Putte Gowda, who recently crossed over to Congress, has been given ticket to contest from Shravanabelagola, from where he had won in the 2008 elections on the JDS symbol.
Senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad's brother B K Shivaram, a former senior police official, has been given a ticket for Malleshwaram seat, while Tejaswini Gowda will contest from Bangalore South.
Chamrajpet seat in the city has been given to G A Bava, a former police official and a close follower of Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily.
According to sources, the latest list suggested the party has given tickets to some of those who have believed to have cross-voted in elections to the Legislative Council from the Assembly last year.
The remaining nine segments, sources said, continued to be a bone of contention among leaders.
In the latest list, the party named B B Chimmanakatti (Badami) and Durgappa Sangappa Hoolagere (Lingasagur), replacing the candidature of Devaraj H Patil and Pamayya Mururi, respectively, announced on April five.
