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From CM’s son Yathindra to state home minister’s daughter Sowmya Reddy, almost 30 Congress MLAs’ kin are in line for tickets. BJP has just two.

Bengaluru: It’s that time of the election process in Karnataka where every politician is scrambling to secure tickets for his or her loved ones. The state has witnessed a phenomenal rise in demand for tickets for family members, with the Congress leading the way — 30 sitting MLAs have sought tickets for their wives, sons or daughters.

Congress leaders hope that by putting up fresh faces in their pet boroughs, the ruling party can counter anti-incumbency and dash the opposition’s hopes.

This rush has once again led the BJP to comment that it is “not like the Congress” and doesn’t believe in dynasty politics. However, chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa’s son B.Y. Vijayendra is also in the queue for a ticket. Party sources say Yeddyurappa’s request will in all likelihood be granted, because many in the party want Vijayendra to go head-to-head with CM Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra in the Varuna seat in Mysuru.

Here’s a list of ticket hopefuls from across party lines:

Congress

Yathindra: Siddaramaiah’s younger son started getting spotted at his father’s office only after the death of elder brother Rakesh, who seemed to be the CM’s anointed heir. Yathindra, a doctor, was a reluctant politician; Siddaramaiah himself told this reporter that he and his wife had to try hard to convince him.

Today, he seems quite comfortable working with the people of Varuna, from where he is seeking a ticket.

Sowmya Reddy: State home minister Ramalinga Reddy is hopeful his daughter is given a ticket from the Jayanagar constituency in Bengaluru, which he has represented four times.

Sowmya has been preparing for life in politics through social campaigns in the area, and has been building up her local support base.

Suneel Bose: He is the son of H.C. Mahadevappa, a minister and close confidant of the CM. Mahadevappa wants Bose to replace him as the Congress candidate in T. Narasipur in Mysuru, while he himself is seeking the C.V. Raman Nagara seat in Bengaluru.

Bose was denied a ticket for the Nanjangud bypoll in 2016 because his name had cropped up in the illegal sand mining scam.

Roopa Shashidhar: She is the daughter of K.H. Muniyappa, the Member of Parliament for Kolar. She has been working in the constituency for several years now, and also has been a front-runner for the local body elections in Kolar Gold Fields.

Mansoor Ali Khan: Son of Rajya Sabha MP K. Rahman Khan, Mansoor has been a ticket aspirant for a few years now. However, his path to a ticket is not clear as his chosen constituency is Jayanagar – the same as Sowmya Reddy.

Santosh Jayachandra: T.B. Jayachandra, who served as law minister in the Siddaramaiah government, has been seeing a ticket for his son Santosh from Chikkanayakanhalli near Tumkur. Santosh has been active in the Youth Congress, and has tried for a ticket earlier too. His name also featured in the illegal sand mining case in Tumkur, which cost him selection in the past.

Nivedith Alva: Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva’s son Nivedith, who has been with the Youth Congress for more than a decade, is hopeful that this time his efforts will pay off. In 2008, Margaret Alva had alleged that party nominations were up for sale, followed by a quiet 10 years in her political life. However, she has recently returned to activity in the state unit.

Kaneez Fathima: The wife of late Congress leader and minister Qamar ul Islam has been convinced by senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge to accept a ticket if given one from Gulbarga North, the constituency Islam represented.

The seat has been a Congress bastion – Islam was a six-time MLA who had a huge following among the Muslims of the region.

Geeta Mahadev Prasad: The wife of late H.S. Mahadeva Prasad, she took over political responsibilities after her husband passed away in 2017. She has been actively working and campaigning in the Gundulpet constituency, from which she also won the by-election last year.

Other senior leaders pushing for tickets for their progeny are A. Manju for son Mathar Gowda, Kagodu Thimappa for daughter Rajanandini, and M.R. Setharam for son Raksha Ram — the last of whom has declined to contest.

Bharatiya Janata Party

B.Y. Vijayendra: The younger son of former CM and state BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappa, Vijayendra, like his possible opponent Yathindra, has not been active in politics. But efforts are on to get him to make the contest tougher for the CM’s son on his political debut.

Locals in Varuna have already termed it as a “clash of the mini titans”.

Shambhavi: Daughter of former union minister, chief minister and senior Congress leader S.M. Krishna, who is now with the BJP. Shambhavi is hoping for a ticket from Maddur, Mandya district.

While Krishna has denied this and termed it a mere “rumour”, sources in the BJP say it could be a way to appease the senior leader, who has been largely silent since his induction into the party.

Janata Dal (Secular)

Anitha Kumaraswamy and Prajwal Gowda: For the JD(S), the fight is between two members of the party’s first family. On one side stands Anitha Kumaraswamy, wife of former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy and daughter-in-law to party chief and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. On the other stands Prajwal Gowda, son of Deve Gowda’s second son, H.D. Revanna.

JD(S) sources say party workers have threatened to stop working for it if their ‘Akka’ (older sister) Anitha is not fielded from Channapatna. Anitha had lost the polls in 2013.

Prajwal, meanwhile, will reportedly get the Lok Sabha ticket from Hassan – his grandfather’s constituency – in 2019.

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