Karnataka elections 2023: NCP releases first list of 9 candidates

The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday released its first list of nine candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections 2023. The party also named its star campaigners.

The NCP has fielded Uttam Patil from Nippani assembly segment in Belgavi district, a region with dominant Marathi-speaking population, where it had actively participated in the agitation against the desecration of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

It has fielded Masoor Saheb Bilagi from Devar Hippargi, Zameer Ahmad Inamdar (Baswan Bagewadi), Kulappa Chavan (Nagthan), R Hari (Yelburga), R Shankar (Ranebennur), K Suguna (Hagaribommanahalli), SYM Masood Foujdar (Virajpet) and Rehana Bano (Narsimharaja).

Hari is the President of the NCP's Karnataka unit and Shankar a BJP MLC who quit the party after being denied ticket to contest the May 10 elections.

Elected as the lone MLA of Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) from Ranebennur constituency in 2018, Shankar later joined the Congress. However, he withdrew his support to Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, when a few MLAs from both parties resigned.

He was then disqualified considering the fact that he was a Congress member. Shankar joined the BJP and was elected to the Legislative Council. Shankar quit the BJP and as MLC after being denied the party ticket to contest the May 10 assembly elections.

Earlier, the party had informed that it is planning on contesting at least 45 seats in the Karnataka polls. There are 224 constituencies in Karnataka and the magic number is 113.

Although the NCP does not have any base in Karnataka, the move is still an interesting one in the wake of the developments that took place last week. The NCP had recently written to the Election Commission of India seeking allocation the 'alarm clock' symbol for the Karnataka Assembly elections.

It must be noted that the NCP had lost its national party status due to its depleted fortunes in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Voting in the state will take place on May 10 and counting is scheduled for May 13.

(with PTI inputs)