Karnataka candidates enrol kin as safe ‘substitutes’

BENGALURU: Family members of at least three Congress stalwarts and one BJP minister have filed their nomination papers from the same constituency in the Karnataka assembly elections as a fallback plan in the event of the senior kin’s nomination getting rejected on technical or legal grounds.
Hours before nominations closed on Thursday, DK Suresh, the lone Congress Lok Sabha member from Karnataka, filed papers from the Kanakpura seat, where his brother and CM aspirant DK Shivakumar is contesting.
Suresh and Shivakumar are not alone. Former Congress ministers KJ George and Satish Jarkiholi have also ensured nomination of one of their family members from their respective seats. While George’s son Rana has filed nomination in Bengaluru’s Sarvagnanagar, Jarkiholi’s daughter has filed papers in Yamakanmardi in Belagavi district. BJP minister K Gopaliah’s wife Hemalatha has also taken the same route by filing papers from her husband’s seat, Mahalakshmi Layout in Bengaluru.

Senior Congress functionaries said Suresh filed his papers as a “substitute” and “precautionary measure”. “They (BJP) did not spare Rahul Gandhi. Will they spare me? But I will never surrender to them,” Shivakumar, who filed his nomination on April 17, told a gathering at a rally in Mandya. His brother’s nomination was part of Congress’s back-up plan as they suspect a certain conspiracy by BJP, he added.
“BJP has been harassing my brother for years since he refused to buckle under pressure as they wanted him to desert Congress and join BJP. Now, we can sense they are conspiring to scuttle Shivakumar’s chances of winning the elections by ensuring the rejection of his nomination. They can even arm-twist the election officials. So, I filed nomination as a back-up,” said Suresh.
His move coincided with Karnataka high court dismissing Shivakumar’s petition challenging the state government’s consent given to CBI to prosecute him in a DA case. While Shivakumar has emerged as a strong contender for the CM’s post, his camp is now worried his chances may be scuttled if CBI resumes its investigation and arrests him.

Congress officials said the party has given Suresh an additional B-form, and Suresh has informed the returning officer to consider this B-form in case his brother’s nomination is rejected or in the event of his failure to contest elections.
The rush to field family members as substitute candidates stems from the fear that many leaders harbour over changes effected in the nomination papers this election season. “There have been some additions to the nomination papers to be filled out by the candidates, and more details about the criminal cases are being sought. That involves some amount of complexity,” said Diwakar N of Karnataka Congress Legal Cell.

“Apart from mentioning the cases under which the aspirant is booked, it is mandatory to specify whether charges have been filed along with dates and if any appeals have been filed,” Diwakar said. Candidates are supposed to declare all their offshore assets as well.
Though the party has imparted ten days of training on filling up nomination papers, Congress leaders fear a conspiracy against them at the nomination-scrutiny stage itself.
In Shivakumar’s case, I-T officials raided his residences and other premises in September 2019. While it led ED to investigate the money-laundering charges against him, CBI sought the government’s consent to investigate an illegal wealth case against him. While the government gave its consent, CBI filed the FIR in October 2020. Shivakumar challenged the FIR in the HC and obtained a stay on it. He also challenged the government’s move to give consent to CBI to investigate the case. But he suffered a setback when the HC dismissed his petition challenging the government’s consent. However, the stay on the FIR persists, and the case is pending.