New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday released its ninth list of 10 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, fielding former finance minister P Chidambaram's son Karti from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu.
Karti Chidambaram is facing trial in corruption cases, including the INX media money laundering case. The Congress list contains four candidates from Maharashtra, three from Bihar and one each in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir.
Former NCP leader Tariq Anwar was nominated by the party for the Katihar Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, which he currently represents.
The party also fielded its former general secretary B K Hariprasad from the Bangalore South constituency in Karnataka.
The others whose names have been cleared by the party's central election committee include Mohammed Javed from Kishanganj and Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh from Purnia in Bihar and Haji Farooq Mir from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides, the party has fielded Hidayat Patel from Akola, Kishor Uttamrao Gajbhiye from Ramtek-SC and Subhash Wankhede from Hingoli in Maharashtra.
The Congress replaced its candidate from Chandrapur in Maharashtra and fielded Suresh Dhanorkar, in place of Vinayak Bangade.
With this the party has fielded a total of 227 candidates so far.
Incidently, a Delhi court has extended till March 25 the interim protection to Karti from his arrest as well as that of former Union minister P Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis scam cases filed by the CBI and the ED.
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Gadag: In Congress, whoever wins the hearts of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi will become the Chief Minister. This is a shame for the democratic system, said former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai.
Speaking to the media in Gadag, he said there is a clash among leaders due to excessive desire for power. Cabinet ministers are trying to retain their positions. Some leaders are demanding ministerial posts saying they have won elections multiple times, while newcomers are also seeking ministerial positions. He added that the Chief Minister is trying to retain his position.
Bommai said Mallikarjun Kharge is a senior leader and feels he should have been given the Chief Minister post fairly.
He further said that Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar function as the high command, referring to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, and added that Congress is a family-based party. He reiterated that whoever wins the support of Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi becomes the Chief Minister, calling it a shame for the democratic system and alleging that the party has weakened internal democracy.
Responding to a question about allegations that officials in the government are not working, he said, “The people who made them are angry. The Congress has cheated the people who elected them. The government is completely at a standstill. No work has been done. About Rs 14,000 crores provided in Siddaramaiah's last budget have not been used. About Rs 10,000 crores were not used in the year before that either. How will the officials work if there is political conflict? If the CM says one thing and the DCM says another, this government has completely come to a standstill in the eyes of the people.”
