Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad: Congress MP K Muraleedharan
Kozhikode (Kerala), Jan 26: Congress MP K Muraleedharan on Friday said that former party president Rahul Gandhi will be contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Wayanad constituency.
Muraleedharan said that all sitting MPs from Kerala are expected to contest from the same seats, except in Kannur.
"That is the arrangement as of now, I believe. Rahul Gandhi will be contesting from Wayanad. There is no change to that," he told reporters here.
Gandhi was elected from the Wayanad constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Muraleedharan also downplayed the ongoing issues in the INDIA alliance with regard to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
"There are no problems in the INDIA alliance. When they all come to the Centre, everyone will be together against the BJP," he said.
The Congress MP said that as far as the Bihar CM was concerned, he may stay or leave the alliance as per his wish, but the party will not push him out.
Regarding the differences with Banerjee over sharing of seats in that state, Muraleedharan said that talks were still going on.
He further said that there would be contests between members of the alliance in some states like Kerala and Punjab, but any splitting of votes would not benefit the BJP in any way in those places.
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20,000 more vacancies in Karnataka Government Jobs; Services affected
Bengaluru: Karnataka has recorded an increase of 20,466 vacancies in government jobs this year, with data revealing that one-third of sanctioned posts in the administration remain unfilled. This shortage has led to significant delays in public service delivery.
Of the 7.72 lakh sanctioned government posts in the state, 2.76 lakh remain vacant, compared to 2.55 lakh last year. The Congress party had pledged in its 2023 election manifesto to fill all vacancies within a year, but 19 months later, this promise remains unfulfilled.
The finance department clarified that hiring is being approved on a "case-to-case" basis. However, mounting fiscal constraints, particularly due to over Rs 63,000 crore expenditure on 'guarantee' schemes, have slowed recruitment under the Siddaramaiah-led government.
Criticising the situation, Karkala BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar highlighted the impact on essential services, citing an example from Udupi district. “With just two employees handling land conversion applications, a service costing Rs 2,000 is being completed at Rs 25,000 due to delays,” he said.
The agriculture department is among the hardest hit, with a 65% staff shortage. Darshan Puttannaiah, Sarvodaya Karnataka MLA from Melkote, expressed concern over the situation, stating, “Government employees are overworked, often putting in 12-15 hours daily. Vacancies are pushing citizens to seek services through outsourcing or corruption.”
Currently, over 96,000 Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs, including stenographers, typists, and drivers, are being outsourced.
R V Deshpande, chairperson of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, remarked that the government should not be viewed as an employment agency. “While some departments need recruitment, others lack sufficient workloads,” he said, emphasising rising administrative costs.
The Congress government isn’t the first to face criticism over recruitment promises. In November 2022, then BJP Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced plans to fill one lakh vacancies within a year, a promise that also went unfulfilled.
