Fake ‘candidate’ list doing social media rounds: Congress

The purported release carried the “seal” of AICC and bore a “signature” made to appear like that of Oscar Fernandes, senior Congress leader and CEC in-charge.

The list featured several names that have the potential to trigger severe dissidence within the Congress.

Soon after the list emerged, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was in Delhi on Tuesday for the party’s screening committee meetings, tweeted: “I am told a list of Congress candidates for Karnataka Election is under circulation. The AICC has not approved the list of candidates yet. The “list” under circulation is fake. It has been done to create confusion. Please don’t patronize products of Fake News factory.”

Congress general secretary and party’s Karnataka in-charge K C Venugopal said in a statement, “A fake press release…is being circulated on social media. I would like to clarify that…AICC has not issue any press release regarding this. Screening committee meetings are on…. Until now no CEC meeting has happened regarding Karnataka election.”

Karnataka Pradesh Congress vice-president K E Radhakrishna said, “This is totally false, fake, fabricated news perhaps produced by the usual fake news factory. CEC has not yet met.”

The “fake list” suggested that sitting Congress MLA from Mandya, the actor M H Ambareesh, will be replaced by the mother of Congress’s social media head, Divya Spandana (popularly by her screen name, Ramya). Ambareesh is at loggerhead with Divya.

It also claimed that Scheduled Tribe strongman Satish Jharkhiholi will be moved from his home constituency —Yemkanmaradi in Belagavi — to Maski (reserved) seat to accommodate his younger brother Lakhan Jharkiholi, with whom he is engaged in a public spat.

Among others, the list also named five of seven JD(S) legislators who recently joined the Congress.