One-family-one seat: State Cong not on board

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: With the Congress High Command planning to implement the one family-one ticket rule in Karnataka for the 2023 Assembly polls to put an end to ‘dynastic politics’, state leaders who were dreaming big of pushing their children and relatives into the fray in the next Assembly election, have reportedly decided to make a slight modification to the rule.

The announcement by former president of AICC, Rahul Gandhi during the recently-held three-day Chintan Shivir in Udaipur in Rajasthan, of making the one-familyone-ticket policy compulsory from the next election came as a rude shock to many of these leaders. Already, several leaders have put their kids and relatives on constituency work so that they get a feel of the political battleground and also get friendly with the electorate. Many of them have started pre-poll exercises such as sponsoring sports events,cultural programmes, taking part in marriages and other functions and arranging trips for women voters to pilgrim centres. Rahul’s diktat shocked everyone and so some of them have come up with the brilliant idea of making this new rule applicable to only new entrants. That means the rule would not be made applicable to the sons and daughters of state leaders who were members of the Legislative Assembly. The task has been entrusted to Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah and KPCC President D.K.Shivakumar who have to get this rule modified not only in their personal interest but also to safeguard the interest of others.

A top leader told News Trail that the Congress Party wants to discard the tag of ‘dynastic politics’ and implement a new policy. But it looks non-implementable as many leaders have already booked constituencies for their children, brothers, sisters and close relatives. The ‘rehearsal’ of the ticket aspirants is already on in constituencies from where they want to contest. Every rule has an exception and so state leaders want to make this rule mandatory to only new entrants and not the existing (family) members.

He confided that the Congress has a list of family members whose hearts would be broken if Rahul’s rule was implemented in letter and spirit.

While Mallikarjun Kharge is in the Rajya Sabha, his son Priyank Kharge is a MLA; Siddaramaiah and his son, Yatindra Siddaramairah are MLAs; Ramalinga Reddy and his daughter, Soumya Reddy are MLAs; D.K.Shivakumar is MLA, his brother D.K.Suresh is MP and another cousin is a MLC. In 2023, former minister H.C.Mahadevappa is planning to seek a ticket for his son, Sunil Bose; Shivakumar for his son-in-law; N.A.Haris for his son, Mohammed Nalpad, former MLC Motamma for her daughter, Nayana Motamma, K.N.Rajanna for his son K.R. Rajendra, Belagavi MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar for her son, Mrunal; Satish Jarkiholi for his children, Rahul and Priyanka; Dr Ajai Singh for his brother, Vijay Singh; Amaregouda Bayyapura for his brother, Narasimha Nayak for his brother, Raju Nayak. Allum Veerabhadrappa’s brother and former MLC S.R.Patil’s brother are also ticket aspirants.