Congress picks KV Gowtham for Kolar Lok Sabha seat, quells dissidence

BENGALURU: In a bid to quell internal dissent and rebellion, Congress picked KV Gowtham as its candidate for the Kolar Lok Sabha seat. The decision comes after a week-long churn within the party over its initial choice of candidate.

Gowtham, hailing from Kolar and currently serving as the president of the Bengaluru Central District Congress Committee, is the son of former Bengaluru mayor KV Vijay Kumar.

The selection of Gowtham follows intense infighting within the Congress over the likelihood of Chikka Pedanna, son-in-law of food and civil supplies minister KH Muniyappa, being named as the Kolar candidate. Rebellion within the Kolar unit of the party and opposition from various quarters led to a delay in the announcement of the LS candidate.

Gowtham's nomination seen as balancing act
Having worked for Youth Congress and NSUI, Gowtham brings both experience and grassroots connection to the table.

The BJP has allocated Kolar seat to its ally JD(S), who has named M Mallesh Babu as its candidate. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress and JD(S) had fought together, but BJP candidate S Muniswamy won by a handsome margin then.

Earlier this week, at least five sitting Congress MLAs, including higher education minister MC Sudhakar, and two MLCs threatened to resign from the party in case Pedanna was chosen as the candidate, with allegations of nepotism exacerbating the crisis within Congress ranks.

Gowtham's nomination is being seen as a balancing act by the party brass, aiming to appease both the Muniyappa and Ramesh Kumar factions within the Kolar Congress unit.

Congress general secretary and the party's Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala emphasised the importance of consensus-building and highlighted the choice of Gowtham as a strategic move that would help ensure victory for the party candidate.

"Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and I had separate, long discussions with KH Muniyappa, emphasising the fact that in the interest of a winning strategy, we need to build a consensus around an SC Left candidate for Kolar," Surjewala posted on X.

"All Congress MLAs have already said they will abide by the candidate chosen by the Central Election Committee and the party leadership," his post further said, adding that it was indeed heartening to note that seven-time MP from Kolar, Muniyappa, had shown magnanimity and grace by opting for consensus.

Reacting to the Congress' choice of candidate for Kolar, Muniyappa supported the party's decision, emphasising the importance of unity in the upcoming parliamentary polls.