The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Ticket: Congress yields to pressure

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Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Ticket: Congress yields to pressure

Special Correspondent

— Photos: K. Gopinathan and Sampath Kumar G.P.

Backing their leaders: BJP workers staged a protest near the party office against the denial of ticket to their leaders, in Bangalore on Monday. (Right) Congress workers from Mahadevpura constituency seeking party ticket for M.M. Anandamurthy.

Bangalore: Succumbing to pressure from ticket aspirants and caste lobbies, the Congress high command has approved the candidature of M.H. Ambareesh, H.M.Revanna, Jaggesh and M. Krishnappa for the Assembly elections.

It is stated to have confirmed the candidature of former Bangalore Mayor P.R. Ramesh from Chickpet and has asked Renuka Prasad to contest from Chikkanayakanahalli in Tumkur district.

The application of R.V. Devaraj, close associate of the former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna has been rejected. Mr. Devaraj was an aspirant for the party ticket from Chickpet.

According to sources, KPCC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge, accompanied by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Vayalar Ravi, returned to the city, but went into hiding to avoid the protesting aspirants, who were denied ticket. Meanwhile, large groups of party workers and supporters of ticket aspirants, mostly slum-dwellers from C.V. Ramannagar and Mahadevapura constituencies staged a dharna in front of the KPCC office.

Many Vokkaliga leaders such as M.S. Atmananda from Mandya, Kempe Gowda from Pandavapura, B. Prakash from Krishnarajpet and K.B. Chandrashekar from Srirangapatna have also expressed their anger over being denied party ticket.

BJP workers protest

The protests in the BJP by disappointed ticket aspirants continued on Monday, though the party leaders claimed that their intensity had reduced.

Several party workers from Dasarahalli Assembly constituency of Bangalore staged a protest in front of the BJP election office at Malleshwaram on Monday to express their dissatisfaction over not fielding their leader Muniraju from the constituency.

They alleged that injustice had been meted out to the Vokkaliga community.

Mr. Muniraju told The Hindu that he had been promised the party ticket by the leaders earlier.

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