Congress Withholds Ticket Given to Muniyappa's Son After 'Resignation' Threat by 6 Karnataka MLAs

Bengaluru: The Congress' Central Election Committee has withheld ticket of KH Muniyappa's son-in-law from Kolar seat after 6 disgruntled MLAs and MLCs threatened of quitting party over distribution of ticket. 

The resignation threat by Congress MLAs came after the allocation of Lok Sabha polls ticket for the Kolar constituency to a relative of Food and Civil Supplies Minister, KH Muniyappa, Chikkapeddanna. 

Reacting to the ticket distribution, Karnataka Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar, one among the disgruntled MLAs, said they can't accept party's decision of fielding Muniyappa from Kolar segment. 

“We want other people in the party to get a chance. We will talk to the CM later today. When he (KH Muniyappa) was here, we were affected by his style of functioning and faced hardship. There is a general feeling in the constituency that SC community is not being represented. We want a candidate from other than this family,” Sudhakar said. 

Sudhakar along with three other 3 MLAs and 2 MLCs met Karnataka Assembly Speaker today, fueling speculations of their resignation from Congress if ticket given to Muniyappa's relative is not withdrawn. 

He alleged that party's top brass heard their feedback but didn't pay heed to their demands. 

The Congress announced first and second list of candidates in Karnataka on March 8 and 21, naming party president Mallikarjun Kharge's son-in-law and children of five other ministers.

Just days after the Lok Sabha announcement, Muniyappa had mentioned that he wants the Congress to give ticket to one of his family members from Kolar seat. However, a section of state leadership pitched for Rajya Sabha member L Hanumanthaiah's candidature. 

The Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka will be conducted in two phases- April 26 and May 7. The results will be declared on June 4.