<p>Bengaluru: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Saturday appointed five new working presidents to the Karnataka state unit. </p>.<p>Former minister Tanveer Sait, Rajya Sabha member G C Chandrashekhar, former minister Vinay Kulkarni, MLC Manjunath Bhandary and Vasanth Kumar have been appointed as the working presidents, a statement from AICC said. </p>.<p>The party has maintained caste and regional balance while appointing new faces. </p>.<p>Sait is a Muslim leader from Mysuru. Chandrashekar is a Vokkaliga and Vinay Kulkarni is a Veerashaiva Lingayat belonging to the Panchamasali sect from Dharwad. </p>.<p>Vasantha Kumar, former Raichur district Congress chief, is a Dalit leader. Bhandary is a Bunt community leader representing Coastal Karnataka. Both Vasantha Kumar and Bhandary are loyalists of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. </p>.<p>Currently, there are five working presidents — Ramalinga Reddy, Satish Jarkiholi and Eshwar Khandre (Ministers), Salim Ahmed, MLC, and B N Chandrappa.</p>.<p>The party has been working to appoint new working presidents by replacing incumbents, especially those serving as ministers in the government. </p>.<p>Campaign committee </p>.<p>The Congress top brass has appointed former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake as Campaign Committee chairman. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Sorake, an Ediga Community leader from Dakshina Kannada, was lobbying for the post of the State Congress Working President. He was also trying for a Lok Sabha ticket from the Dakshina Kannada segment. However, the party gave a ticket to Padmaraj, a loyalist of former Union minister B Janardhana Poojary. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Former Rajya Sabha member L Hanumanthaiah has been appointed as a co-chairman of the campaign committee. He was trying for a Lok Sabha ticket from Kolar. The party is yet to announce the candidate for Kolar. Since he was appointed as the co-chairman, the chances of him getting a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections are bleak. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad has also been appointed as a co-chairman of the Campaign Committee. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on Saturday appointed five new working presidents to the Karnataka state unit. </p>.<p>Former minister Tanveer Sait, Rajya Sabha member G C Chandrashekhar, former minister Vinay Kulkarni, MLC Manjunath Bhandary and Vasanth Kumar have been appointed as the working presidents, a statement from AICC said. </p>.<p>The party has maintained caste and regional balance while appointing new faces. </p>.<p>Sait is a Muslim leader from Mysuru. Chandrashekar is a Vokkaliga and Vinay Kulkarni is a Veerashaiva Lingayat belonging to the Panchamasali sect from Dharwad. </p>.<p>Vasantha Kumar, former Raichur district Congress chief, is a Dalit leader. Bhandary is a Bunt community leader representing Coastal Karnataka. Both Vasantha Kumar and Bhandary are loyalists of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. </p>.<p>Currently, there are five working presidents — Ramalinga Reddy, Satish Jarkiholi and Eshwar Khandre (Ministers), Salim Ahmed, MLC, and B N Chandrappa.</p>.<p>The party has been working to appoint new working presidents by replacing incumbents, especially those serving as ministers in the government. </p>.<p>Campaign committee </p>.<p>The Congress top brass has appointed former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake as Campaign Committee chairman. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Sorake, an Ediga Community leader from Dakshina Kannada, was lobbying for the post of the State Congress Working President. He was also trying for a Lok Sabha ticket from the Dakshina Kannada segment. However, the party gave a ticket to Padmaraj, a loyalist of former Union minister B Janardhana Poojary. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Former Rajya Sabha member L Hanumanthaiah has been appointed as a co-chairman of the campaign committee. He was trying for a Lok Sabha ticket from Kolar. The party is yet to announce the candidate for Kolar. Since he was appointed as the co-chairman, the chances of him getting a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections are bleak. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad has also been appointed as a co-chairman of the Campaign Committee. </p>