Congress to Finalize First List of Lok Sabha Candidates in Karnataka on March 7, Says Deputy CM Shivakumar

On Tuesday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar announced that the Congress party's central election committee is scheduled to convene on March seven in New Delhi. During this meeting, the committee will finalize the initial list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Karnataka.

He and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had a meeting with the Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Monday, Shivakumar, also the state Congress chief, said.

We will have our final central election committee meeting on March 7. I and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are going to Delhi on March seven where we will finalise the (first) list of candidates, he said.

In the 2019 general election, the BJP dominated by securing 25 out of the total 28 seats in Karnataka, with an independent candidate supported by the party also emerging victorious. Meanwhile, the Congress and the JD(S), led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who were in a coalition government at the time and contested together, only managed to win one seat each.

However, the political landscape has undergone significant changes since then. The Congress achieved a resounding victory in the Assembly elections held in May last year. Additionally, there has been a role reversal of sorts for the JD(S), which aligned with the BJP-led NDA in September last year. Currently, the JD(S) is in discussions with the BJP regarding the arrangement for sharing seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.