lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 26, 2019 10:16 IST

After multiple rounds of discussions, the Congress on Monday named Karnataka’s rural development minister Krishna Byregowda as the candidate for the Bengaluru North Lok Sabha constituency.

The Congress had been left in the lurch after alliance partner Janata Dal (Secular) “gave back” the Congress the seat as it was unable to find a candidate.

The office of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who is the chief of the coordination committee of the coalition, confirmed the development and said that Byregowda had been picked as the candidate after consultations with the local MLAs. Byregowda’s own assembly constituency, Byatarayanpura, comes under the Bengaluru North Lok Sabha constituency.

“It was decided to field Krishna Byregowda as the candidate for the Bengaluru North Lok Sabha constituency during discussions held at the residence of Siddaramaiah,” the statement released by Siddaramaiah’s office said.

“Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, too, approved this decision when it was conveyed to him over the phone,” it said.

The decision was arrived at after Siddaramaiah called for a meeting with the seven MLAs from the Lok Sabha constituency at his residence in the capital city. The coalition won seven — the Congress five and the JD(S) two — of the eight assembly segments that fall within the Lok Sabha constituency in the 2018 state elections.

Byregowda is a four-time MLA, who also unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the Bengaluru South constituency, where he lost to the later former union minister HN Ananth Kumar.

A person who was privy to the discussions said that while many names had been speculated upon since morning, there was really only one person in the fray after Deve Gowda refused to contest the seat, picking the Tumakuru seat instead. Before taking that decision, Deve Gowda had visited Byregowda’s residence last week when he had asked the state minister to consider alternative candidates.

Byregowda will go up against former union minister DV Sadananda Gowda of the Bharatiya Janata Party.