Marithibbegowda seeks re-election from South Teachers seat; K.K. Manjunath fielded from South West Teachers seat

Mysore/Mysuru: MLC and former Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council, Marithibbegowda, submitted his nomination for the Legislative Council election from the South Teachers Constituency this afternoon.

Marithibbegowda handed over the nomination papers in four sets to Regional Commissioner Dr. G.C. Prakash, also the Returning Officer, at the Office of Regional Commissioner  on Hunsur Road.

He was accompanied by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and District Ministers Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa (Mysuru), K. Venkatesh (Chamarajanagar) & N. Cheluvarayaswamy (Mandya), School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa, MLA and KPCC Working President Tanveer Sait, MLA K.M. Shivalinge Gowda, KPCC Women’s Wing President Dr. Pushpa Amarnath and several other leaders.

South Teachers Constituency comprises Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Hassan Districts, hence the presence of Ministers and MLAs representing the respective districts during the filing of nomination papers.

Marithibbegowda is seeking re-election for the fifth consecutive term, having previously served four terms in the Upper House. He initially won as a Congress candidate in 2000, followed by victories as an Independent candidate in 2006, and twice as a JD(S) candidate in 2012 and 2018. Having returned to the grand old party, he is optimistic about maintaining his winning streak.

Similarly, K.K. Manjunath, the Congress nominee from the South West Teachers Constituency, also filed his nomination, accompanied by CM Siddaramaiah and other leaders.

However, Siddaramaiah did not address the media or attend the scheduled meeting with party workers at Leela Channaiah Choultry in Vinayakanagar (Paduvarahalli). Instead, he headed straight to his residence at T.K. Layout.

Sources indicate that the CM is expected to participate in a meeting with prominent leaders from Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Hassan to discuss party’s prospects in Council polls.

Earlier, the CM arrived on a special flight from HAL Airport in Bengaluru to Mysore Airport and spoke to media persons.

Responding to a question regarding a video allegedly featuring Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde discussing the potential downfall of the Congress Government in Karnataka after the LS polls, Siddaramaiah remarked, “They have been speculating about the fall of the Government for a year now. The Maharashtra CM should focus on saving his Government first. There is no infighting within the Karnataka Congress unit, and if there were, it would have been impossible to work together cohesively during the LS polls.”

The Congress has announced its candidates for the biennial polls to six Council seats (three each for Graduates and Teachers’ Constituencies) in Karnataka, scheduled for June 3. The party is likely to adopt a strategy similar to the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

The nominated candidates include D.T. Srinivas for the South East Teachers’ seat, Dr. Chandrashekar Patil for the North East Graduates seat, Ayanuru Manjunath for the South West Graduates’ seat and Ramoji Gowda for the Bengaluru Graduates’ seat.