Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar should consult senior party leaders on MLC candidates: Parameshwara

Bengaluru: In a sign of discord in the Congress, Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar should not “unilaterally” decide on the seven MLC tickets for which, apparently, there are 300 aspirants in Congress. 

The biennial election to 11 seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council from the Assembly are slated on June 13. According to the existing strength of the respective parties, Congress would win seven seats, BJP three and JD(S) one seat. The winning candidate needs to secure 19 first preference votes in this election.

Parameshwara, who headed the KPCC for eight years, told reporters that seniors like him should be consulted. “Both CM (Siddaramaiah) and KPCC president (Shivakumar) are holding responsible positions. Ideally, such issues warrant discussions with senior leaders and they should consult seniors like us. If they decide on their own, and without consulting, then I would say it is not right,” he said.

Stressing that he was expressing his “personal views” on the matter, Parameshwara noted that those with seniority and experience, both in the party as well as in the government, should be consulted. 

“It is not just me, there are many seniors like me who have been KPCC presidents and held many party positions. It would be better if such leaders’ opinions were sought in such matters,” he explained. 

He further appealed to both leaders that besides considering caste and regional factors, the party should also recognise those communities that have been standing with the party and those who have worked for the party must be taken into consideration prior to finalising the names for the seven seats.

The home minister had made similar comments when the party had chosen to appoint candidates for state-run boards and corporations last year. 

Meanwhile, reacting to Parameshwara’s remarks, prior to leaving for New Delhi to finalise the list, Shivakumar noted that the party will surely elicit opinions from such leaders too. “The criterion to select candidates will be decided by our party high command, which is the standard procedure followed by the party for a long time,” he said.

Maintaining that the state leaders have a tough time in selecting candidates, Shivakumar claimed that the party has received more than 300 aspiring candidates for the seven seats. “Definitely, we will not be in a position to accommodate everyone, as we have only seven seats to fill. All the aspirants are equally competent as their contributions in building this party is enormous,” he said.