Rahul names 43-member panel for Karnataka polls

Karnataka Congress president G Parmeshwara will head the 43-member state election committee that includes Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former governor Margaret Alva.

The pradesh election committee will recommend candidates to the central election committee for the Assembly polls and other matters related to the conduct of elections.

As a part of its elaborate candidate selection exercise, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has invited applications from aspirants.

Applications will be available at KPCC Office in Bengaluru from Monday and the last date for submission is March 10. The Election Commission is likely to announce the polls date in the second week of March.

Besides the 43 members, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, four AICC secretaries in-charge of the state and all MPs from the state are also on the committee approved by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, M Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes, K Rahman Khan, C M Ibrahim, and young leaders Dinesh Gundurao and Krishna Byre Gowda are also part of the panel.

Interestingly, Ambareesh and Jarkiholi - who were vocal about the functioning of the party leadership - find themselves on the panel.