The first meeting comprising senior Congress leaders and the 18-member election panel of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) was held in Bengaluru on Friday to discuss the Lok Sabha poll's probable candidates.  The elections are scheduled to be held April-May.

Congress is targeting to win 20 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka after its performance in the Assembly polls last May. 

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress just won one seat of the 21 it contested, while its ally JD(S) secured one seat of the seven.

In the upcoming polls, speculation is rife that some ministers might be asked to contest considering the stakes are high with the party having to face BJP and JD(S), who have entered into a poll alliance. Congress' high command has reportedly warned the state leadership against a poor performance in the elections.

The Lok Sabha panel members are Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister;  DK Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister; Congress Working Committee (CWC) members Syed Naseer Hussain and BK Hariprasad; G Parameshwara, Home Minister; M Veerappa Moily, former chief minister and CWC member; MB Patil, Large and Medium Industries Minister; Dinesh Gundu Rao, Health Minister; HK Patil, Law Minister; KH Muniyappa, Food and Civil Supplies Minister; Eshwar Khandre, Wildlife and Forest Minister; Ramalinga Reddy, Transport and Muzrai Minister; Satish Jarkiholi, Public Works Minister; MLA RV Deshpande; party functionaries Saleem Ahmed and Allum Veerabhadrappa; MLC Jagadish Shettar, and former MP BN Chandrappa.

The State panel will shortlist the names of the candidates, which will be vetted by the AICC election screening committee before it goes to CEC.