U.T. Khader | Photo Credit: Manjunath H.S.
K.J. George | Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
The neighbouring State of Kerala too has something to celebrate in the Karnakata elections, the results of which were announced on Saturday, giving the Congress a thumping victory.
Among the 136 Congress MLAs, there are three Malayalis – K.J. George, N.A. Haris and U.T. Khader. While Mr. George and Mr. Khader had a cakewalk, Mr. Harris made it to the Assembly for the fourth time in a row by giving a tough fight to the BJP.
Keralites living in Karnataka have been particularly joyous over the victory of the three Malayali candidates. And they are no new faces in the Karnataka Assembly.
A senior leader of the Congress in Karnataka, Mr. George has been representing party in the Assembly for the sixth time. He was a Minister under Siddaramaiah, managing portfolios such as Home and Bengaluru Development and Town Planning.
Elected from Sarvagnanagar, Bengaluru, with a margin of 55,768 votes against the BJP’s Padmanabha Reddy, Mr. George is likely to become a Minister in the new Cabinet. He has his roots at Chingavanam in Kottayam district.
Mr. Khader hails from Uppala, Kasaragod, and is representing the Mangaluru constituency in the Assembly for the fifth time. He too was a Minister under Siddaramaiah, handling food portfolio. He defeated BJP’s Sathish Kumpala by a margin of 22,790 votes.
Hailing from Kasaragod, Mr. Haris too has made it to the Assembly for the fourth time in a row from the Shanti Nagar constituency. He defeated BJP’s K. Shivakumar by 7,125 votes. He also defeated another Malayali, Mathai K. of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Mr. Haris is also vice-president of the All India Football Federation.
Of the three Malayalis among the 136 Congress members in the Assembly, two are likely to get a ministerial berth this time.
