Congress Faces Pressure as BJP Releases First List of Candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Although the dates of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections have not been revealed yet, there is news of BJP releasing the first list of its candidates. This has increased the pressure on the Congress party. There is a meeting of the Congress Central Election Committee in the coming week. Questions are being raised as to how Congress will handle the potential candidates, i.e. national president Mallikarjun Kharge; Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and CM Siddaramaiah from Karnataka. DKS has his eyes set on the post of Chief Minister while CM Siddaramaiah is already adamant about the chair. Kharge has the highest responsibility and will have to deal with intense lobbying while selecting potential candidates where there are at least two or three eligible candidates for every seat. For example, former AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad is vying for the Bengaluru Central ticket and Law and Parliamentary Minister HK Patil is seeking re-nomination for his brother DK Patil. It is easier to approach Kharge than to lobby with DKS or Siddaramaiah for the seat.

Kharge will be the sole authority to decide the candidates in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. Kharge will select candidates for Gulbarga, Bidar and Raichur. He may choose his son-in-law Radhakrishna for Gulbarga seat; However, he will put the responsibility of nominating him on DKS and Siddaramaiah. According to sources, Congress will finalize its list by the end of next week, in which the candidates may be divided into two lists. The final decision will be taken by the Congress Central Election Committee.

Here, according to sources, BJP's state candidate list is likely to be delayed until the LS elections are announced around March 10 this year. The saffron party is implementing a seat-sharing formula with JD(S) as the Janata Dal is demanding at least four seats. Also, the BJP is working on options for its candidates and is also exploring whether to replace several sitting MPs. Several outgoing MPs have emerged as potential candidates in each constituency. According to state general secretary Pritam Gowda, who heads the observation team for the Bijapur Lok Sabha seat, which is represented by Ramesh Jigajinagi, said the final decision will be taken by the high command. BJP has formed a two-member observer team to gather opinions in every area. The BJP Core Committee has also worked and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of suitable candidates.