DK Shivakumar’s nomination accepted from Kanakapura seat

BENGALURU: Putting all speculation to rest, the returning officer for Kanakapura assembly seat on Friday accepted the nomination of Karnataka PCC president DK Shivakumar, paving the way for a high-profile battle between him and revenue minister R Ashoka of BJP.
Shivakumar, who is vying for the post of the CM, was worried that his nomination could be rejected on legal grounds and had accused BJP of conspiring to push him out of the electoral fray. As a fallback option, his brother DK Suresh had also filed his papers from the same seat.
Not just Shivakumar’s, but nominations of the other prominent politicians who had asked one of their family members to file their papers as a substitute over fear of rejection were also accepted. This includes KJ George and Satish Jarkiholi of Congress and K Gopalaiah of BJP. The returning officer for Kanakapura ruled out any discrepancy in the nomination filed by Shivakumar during scrutiny. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 24.
On the Karnataka HC dismissing his plea in a disproportionate assets case, Shivakumar said he would fight till his last breath.