Congress minister Gowda to contest from Bangalore North

Bengaluru, March 26: Congress on Monday night named its Karnataka Minister Krishna Byre Gowda as the party candidate to contest from the high-profile Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency on April 18.

"The central election committee has approved the candidature of Krishna Byre Gowda as Congress candidate for the ensuing general election to the Lok Sabha from Bangalore North parliamentary constituency in Karnataka," said the party in a statement from New Delhi, quoting the panel's in-charge and party general secretary Mukul Wasnik.

The 45-year-old Gowda is the Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the ruling JD-S-Congress coalition government since May 2018.

He is a legislator in the state assembly from Byatarayanapura segment in the city's northwest area.

Gowda will take on Union Minister and sitting Lok Sabha member D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who won the prestigious seat in the 2014 general elections.

The party named Byre Gowda to contest from Bangalore North a day after the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) surrendered it in the absence of a winning candidate.

As part of the seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties, the Congress will contest in 21 Lok Sabha seats, instead of 20, and the JD-S in seven, instead of eight.

Congress general secretary and party's state unit in-charge K.C. Venugopal said his party was thankful to JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and the JD-S for the gesture to give up the Bangalore North seat in his party's favour.

"Together let us all reclaim democracy," Venugopal tweeted.