With the hope of riding a sympathy wave, the Congress is expected to field a member of the late MLA Y.N. Rudresh Gowda’s family from Belur in the Assembly elections. Gowda, who represented Belur twice, died after a prolonged illness on Saturday, Before his death, he had sought ticket for his younger brother Krishne Gowda, a planter.
Senior leaders of the Congress, including party president Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, paid homage to the departed MLA at his residence on Sunday. Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who spoke to the media on the occasion, said the party stood by the bereaved family.
Minister for Sericulture and Animal Husbandry A.Manju, who is also in charge of Hassan district, told reporters on Monday that a relative of Gowda might get ticket. “It will be decided by the high command. Going by the party’s decisions whenever similar incidents have occurred, the chance of a family member getting ticket is high,” he said. When asked who would be the party’s choice between Gowda’s wife Keertana and his brother Krishne Gowda, Mr. Manju said: “The family has to decide whom to field.”
The other hopefuls for Congress ticket are former Minister B. Shivaram and former MLA H.M. Vishwanath. However, his brother’s death has increased Krishne Gowda’s chances.
Meanwhile, leaders of the JD(S) are of the opinion that riding the sympathy wave would not work this time. K.S. Lingesh, JD(S) ticket hopeful from Belur, said: “We have seen in the past that the sympathy wave works only in the case of a byelection. The MLA has completed his term and this is a general election, where the people will vote based on issues concerning the State, not the constituency.”
