Bengaluru, 29 March

Amid speculations that Congress may choose a candidate who does not belong to any faction in Kolar for Lok Sabha polls, Minister KH Muniyappa warned that such plans will not be result-oriented.

He urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President DK Shivakumar to unite factions led by him and former Legislative Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, to ensure Congress' victory in the Kolar Lok Sabha segment.

Five Congress legislators including a Minister on Wednesday threatened to resign if the Lok Sabha ticket is given to Muniyappa's son-in-law Chikka Peddanna to contest from Kolar, bringing into open the divisions in the outfit.

The party is yet to announce its candidate in the segment, currently held by the BJP. "I have assured that if the ticket is given to someone I have suggested I will ensure the candidates victory. As a member of parliament for over 30 years, having won the seat seven times, I know how to ensure victory in the constituency," Muniyappa said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, it was earlier decided unanimously at a meeting to which Ramesh was also a party, that all leaders from the region will work together, keeping aside past differences to win in Kolar and Chikkaballapur constituencies, and everyone will abide by the party decision.

Muniyappa had returned to State politics after losing the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kolar against BJP's S Muniswamy. He is currently MLA from Devanahalli and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies. Muniyappa said the Chief Minister seems to be planning differently (a new candidate who is not from any faction).

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar on Thursday held a meeting with the lawmakers from Kolar who had threatened to resign over possible candidacy of Peddanna, and wanted someone from the SC (Right) sect to be fielded. Peddanna belongs to SC (Left).

The legislators who had threatened to quit are: three MLAs -- Kothur G Manjunath (Kolar), KY Nanjegowda (Malur) and MC Sudhakar (Chintamani) -- and two MLCs -- Anil Kumar and Naseer Ahmed (the political secretary to Siddaramaiah). Sudhakar is the Higher Education Minister in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet.

The row over the Kolar seat is seen as a sequel to a long-drawn fight between two factions of the Kolar Congress, one led by Muniyappa and another by Ramesh vying for supremacy in the district. The party should not be affected because of "our egos", he said.