CM leaves for Delhi to finalise candidates

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MAY 28. The Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, left for Delhi today to finalise the selection of party candidates for the elections to the Legislative Council from the Legislative Assembly to be held on June 12.

However, the more important question with a bearing on the affairs of the ruling Congress(I) in the State, which is being talked of in party circles, is that the Chief Minister will broach with the AICC(I) leaders the question of his stepping down from the presidentship of the KPCC(I) and the appointment of an interim president for the party. It may be mentioned that the AICC(I) election authority has already fixed October 31 as the date for the election of the PCC(I) President.

Mr. Krishna, who will be meeting the AICC(I) President, Ms. Sonia Gandhi and a few other party functionaries, will be back on Monday night. Wednesday is the last date for the filing of nomination papers for the Council elections. His visit to Delhi on Thursday had disappointed the very large number of aspirants as he returned without the list of candidates.

There is an expectation in the party that one of the senior MLCs among the seven who will be retiring (one party MLC has resigned and K. Mallanna passed away) will be renominated by the party with an eye on the chairmanship of the Upper House. As the deputy chairmanship has already gone to the Opposition -- Mr. David Simeon -- the Congress(I) is keen on retaining the chairmanship. The Chairman, Mr. D.B. Kalmankar, is one of the retiring members and he is seeking renomination by the party. However the seniormost among the retiring Congress(I) MLCs is not Mr. Kalmankar, but Mr. T.N. Narasimha Murthy, who has been a member without a break from 1970. If he is renominated for a record sixth term, he might be the party's choice for the chairmanship. But his defeat in the Assembly election is being held against him. The Congress(I) has a strength of 21 in the 75-member Council and has to go by consensus on electing the Chairman. The strength might even decrease to 20 after the elections as the party has little following among the teacher and graduate voters who will be electing six MLCs separately on June 17.

A keen tussle is on between some of the ministers on the selection of a candidate from among the Scheduled Castes. Mr. Maruti Mule from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region is the candidate of two senior ministers, Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge (Home) and Mr. Dharam Singh (Public Works). But the Minister for Women and Child Welfare and member of the Congress Working Committee, Ms. Motamma is stated to be favouring one Mr. Tatyarao Kamble of Bidar District. However, there are reports that Mr. Kamble is still a member of the BJP. Ms. Motamma is stated to be canvassing the candidature of some junior partymen and even taken one or two of them to Ms. Sonia Gandhi.

For one of the two seats expected to be given to Vokkaligas, the name of Mr. Ramesh Raju, a former president of the Mandya District Congress(I) is being mentioned. One of the other names is that of Mr. D.S. Gowda, a former MLA who has been a general secretary of the KPCC(I) for four terms. Mr. Gowda was unlucky to be denied the party ticket for the Assembly election from the Jayamahal constituency in Bangalore. He had represented Devanahalli in the Assembly from 1967 to 1971 before it became a reserved constituency.

The Congress(I) will have to think of a successor to Mr. Krishna at the Congress Bhavan if he decides to step down. Some of the names being speculated upon for the top party post are those of Mr. M.V. Rajashekaran, KPCC(I) Vice-President, Mr. V.S. Koujalgi, MLA and former Speaker of the Assembly, and also that of Mr. Narasimha Murthy. Mr. Rajashekaran's name is also being considered for the Council.

The Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha has urged the Chief Minister to elect two Brahmin candidates to the Council. The Chairman, Mr. Kalmankar is a Brahmin. But according to party sources, a stand is being taken that a Brahmin, the Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Prof. B.K. Chandrashekar, has already been elected (though in a byelection) and there is no possibility of fielding another candidate from that caste.

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