Karnataka polls: Ashok Gehlot in, Sachin Pilot missing from Cong's list of campaigners

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was featured in the list of 40 star campaigners, but Sachin Pilot name was missing in the list.

Bengaluru (Karnataka):While several Congress top guns and heavyweights, including AICC chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and national president Mallikarjun Kharge, featured in the party's list of star campaigners for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly polls, a notable absentee was former Union minister Sachin Pilot.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was featured in the list of 40 star campaigners, which the Congress unveiled on Wednesday. Gehlot and Pilot have been locked in a leadership tussle and haven't been seeing eye-to-eye on a range of issues. After surviving an attempt orchestrated by Pilot to unseat him as chief minister, Gehlot had hit out at the former calling him "Nikamma" and "Nakara" (useless).

Subsequently, in an interview with a television channel, Gehlot had even accused Pilot of betraying the party. Again, an attempt by the Congress high command last year to replace Gehlot with Pilot as the Rajasthan CM was defeated after over 80 MLAs, loyal to the former tendered their resignations from the Assembly and skipped a meeting legislators convened in connection with a change of guard at the helm of the state.

And, in the latest in the continuing feud between the two leaders, Pilot recently sat on a day's fast demanding that the Gehlot government meet its pre-electoral promise instituting a CBI probe into alleged corruption during the tenure of former CM and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje Scindia.

Again, on April 13, this year, the Congress had called a meeting in the quest of a resolution, amid the continuing political tumult in the party's Rajasthan unit. Pilot was also at the forefront of the Congress campaign for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, which the grand old party won. However, his absence from the party's campaign roll for Karnataka this year indicates that the high command may have hardered its stance vis-a-vis Pilot.

Among the other prominent names in the party's list of campaigners are Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, general secretary in-charge, Communication, Jairam Ramesh, Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, and former Maharastra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Earlier on Wednesday, senior Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah filed his nomination for the state polls. Speaking to reporters after officially entering the fray, he said the Congress was a secular party and won't seek votes on the basis of caste. Siddaramaiah filed his nomination from the Varuna Assembly constituency. "Congress is a secular party. We are not seeking votes on the basis of caste. We are hopeful of garnering votes from across communities, including Linagayts, Vokkaligas and others," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

The last date for filing nominations is April 20. Earlier on April 7, Karnataka Leader of Opposition (LoP) Siddaramaiah said the upcoming state elections will be his last electoral battle as he will retire from politics after.

"I am contesting from Varuna constituency as my native village falls within the precincts of this Assembly segment. This is going to be my last election. Thereafter, I will retire from electoral politics," Siddaramaiah told ANI earlier. The Congress leader added that while he will still be in active politics post the Karnataka polls, he won't accept any party posts that would require him to shift base to Delhi.

The process of nominations has picked up momentum in Karnataka, with senior leaders from all the key electoral players in the southern state filing their papers. The counting of votes for the Kantaka Assembly will take place on May 13. (ANI)