Bengaluru, June 3 (IANS) The Congress on Wednesday announced its candidates for four of the seven seats going to polls in Karnataka.

The list, released by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), includes B.K. Hariprasad, P.V. Mohan, Shivanna Malavalli and Tippannappa Kamakanur.

The candidate selection has also drawn attention as the Congress has fielded members from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) for all the four seats.

The move is being viewed as a significant political decision by the Congress ahead of the elections.

With the announcement, B.K. Hariprasad and Tippannappa Kamakanur have been retained for another term, while the Congress has given opportunities to two new faces for the remaining seats.

It can be noted that Hariprasad has been named as the State Congress President. The four candidates will be elected to the State Legislative Council through voting by MLAs.

Elections have been notified to fill seven vacant seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council following the retirement of sitting members.

The election notification was issued by Karnataka Assembly Secretary and Returning Officer M.K. Vishalakshi on Monday.

The vacancies have arisen due to the retirement of Legislative Council members Govindaraju (Congress), Naseer Ahmed (Congress), M.T.B. Nagaraj (BJP), Pratap Simha Nayak (BJP), Tippannappa Kamakanoor (Congress), Sunil Valyapure (BJP), and B.K. Hariprasad (Congress).

According to the election schedule, June 8 has been fixed as the last date for filing nominations.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will be conducted on June 9, while June 11 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature.

Polling, if required, will be held on June 18 between 9 am and 4 p.m. at room number 106 in the Vidhana Soudha.

The counting of votes will take place on the same day from 5 p.m. onwards, and the election process will conclude by June 20.

–IANS

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