Bengaluru, March 30 (UNI) The All India Congress Committee (AICC) finally announced KV Gowtham as its nominee for the Kolar Reserve Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka on Saturday.
The announcement came after significant lobbying and threats of resignation from five Congress legislators who opposed the potential candidacy of Chikka Peddanna, the son-in-law of senior party leader and Minister K H Muniyappa.
AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal officially declared Gowtham as the Congress candidate for the Kolar SC Parliamentary constituency. This decision followed protests from three MLAs and two MLCs regarding the nomination of Muniyappa's son-in-law for the election ticket in Kolar.
In response to the discord, Muniyappa affirmed his commitment to abide by the decisions of the party high command. He made it clear that he would accept whatever decision the Congress party made regarding the candidacy.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President DK Shivakumar addressed the issue, assuring that there would be no resignations from the party over the matter. He emphasized the unity among party workers in Kolar and stated that all party leaders would work together in the constituency.
The Kolar Lok Sabha seat has historical significance for the Congress party, having been its bastion until the 2019 general elections when it was won by the BJP candidate Muniswamy. Prior to 2019, the seat had been represented by Congress leader Muniyappa from 1991 to 2014.
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