New Delhi/Bengaluru, March 24 (IANS) Defending the Congress decision to issue tickets to family members for bypolls in Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday asked which party does not have family politics.

Interacting with the media on Tuesday at the Delhi airport and then at the Karnataka Bhavan, Shivakumar, responding to questions about allegations of giving preference to family members, said: “Tell me which party does not have family politics. It exists in every party. In Davangere, three members of the same family have been in politics for a long time.”

“We ourselves persuaded Prabha Mallikarjun to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Davanagere seat. Even though she did not ask for it, we pressured her to contest. We had been losing there for the last five to six elections, so we fielded her to ensure victory. Now she has won and is working well in Parliament,” he said.

“Those who have filed nominations as rebel candidates in the Davangere by-election are from our own party. We will speak to them and resolve the issue,” Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, said.

“Yesterday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and I visited Davangere and Bagalkot. Many people have filed nominations in Davangere, but they are all from our party. Our leaders will speak to them, and everything will be set right,” he said.

Asked about growing dissatisfaction within the party, he said: “Everyone has aspirations. There is nothing wrong with that.”

The Congress is purportedly facing stiff resistance from within the party for allocating a ticket to Samarth Mallikarjun from the Davanagere South seat. He is the grandson of veteran Congress leader late Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who represented the seat. Considering the significant presence of minority votes, the demand was vehemently placed to allot a ticket to a candidate from the minority community. Samarth Mallikarjun’s mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, represents the Davanagere Lok Sabha seat, and father, S.S. Mallikarjun, is Minister for Mines, Geology and Horticulture.

On his trip, Shivakumar said that he had come to Delhi to attend a conference organised by a media organisation. “I have been invited for a discussion on the direction in which India is heading. That is why I am here.”

–IANS

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