K'taka Cong not to project any chief ministerial candidate

Bangalore, Mar 9 (UNI) The Congress in Karnataka will not project any leader as its Chief Ministerial candidate, senior party leader and Union Minister M V Rajashekharan said today.

Talking to newspersons here, he said the coming Assembly elections would be fought under collective leadership and this included former Chief Minister S M Krishna.

He said the party High Command would decide on the leadership after the polls.

Denying reports that Mr Krishna's re-entry into the state politics after quitting Maharashtra Governorship had created confusion, he said the Congress never projected anyone as the future chief minister.

''The High Command will take a decision when the party regains power in the state. No leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC President Mallikarjuna Kharge and Mr Krishna have claimed any post,'' he said.

Mr Rajashekharan said the entry of JD(S) leader M P Prakash into the Congress would boost the chances of the party making a comeback in the state.

Dismissing allegations levelled by rival parties that the Congress had tried to defer the elections, he said ''we only insisted on removing the large scale anomalies found in the electoral rolls.'' UNI MV RS AJ AKJ RK1640