Karnataka assembly election: 15 women in Congress list

BENGALURU: Fifteen women figure in the first list of Congress candidates in tune with

AICC

president Rahul Gandhi's assurance that more women would be given ticket this time.

The party has also allotted tickets to 15 Muslim candidates and another two are expected to be included in the second list. In 2013, the party had given tickets to 19 Muslim candidates. Two Christians too figure in the list. The new faces in the Congress list include Bengaluru Mayor R Sampath Raj.

All the seven JD(S) rebel candidates who had joined the Congress ahead of the polls have made it to in the list. Five-time MLA from Chamarajpet, B Z Zameer Ahmad Khan, who contested the last assembly polls on a Janata Dal(S) ticket, has been fielded from the same seat.

Former BBMP commissioner Siddaiah has been fielded from Sakaleshpur (SC) constituency, while former IAS officer Syed Zameer Pasha is the party nominee from Kolar. Davanagere contestant Shamanur Shivashanarappa, 86, is the oldest Congress candidate in the fray, whlle 26-year-old H S Manjunath Gowda (Mahalakshmi Layout) is the youngest. Gowda is the state NSUI president.

The plans of CM's close aide, H C Mahadevappa, to get a ticket for his son, Sunil Bose, from T Narispur has been spiked. Mahadevappa, who wanted to contest from another seat, will now have to contest from T Narsipur.