Why Krishna colleagues shy away from LS polls

However, sources said the two heavyweights squashed the idea before it could even take off. Reacting to these reports, Kharge said: ‘‘The idea of my fighting the Lok Sabha election must either be the wish of the reporter or the handiwork of some vested interests.’’

Kharge is a native of Bidar who commands considerable support. There is no one better than him to wrest the seat from the BJP’s Ramachandra Veerappa, an octogenarian, who has held it for long.

Sources said Singh was not at all interested in contesting LS elections as he would like to stake claim for the Chief Minister’s post should the Congress return to power. Both Kharge and Singh have a track record of successfully pursuing their ambitions and they missed a chance to head the state government by a whisker.

So far, no one from the Scheduled Castes has become the Karnataka CM. The Congress could have changed this when it won Assembly polls on previous occasions. But in 1999, Kharge was even denied the office of Deputy CM. While in Madhya Pradesh, Digvijay Singh had not one, but two deputies.

As for Dharam Singh, he is no stranger to national politics. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gulbarga on a Congress ticket in 1980 when Indira Gandhi returned to power. But Singh’s parliamentary career was cut short as he was asked to vacate the for C.M. Stephen from Kerala.

Stephen won from Gulbarga with a thumping margin and became a minister in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet. For his sacrifice, Singh was made Cabinet Minister in the R. Gundu Rao government in the State. Since then, Singh has not looked back. However, he narrowly missed the chance to become the CM in 1999. The high command had replaced him as KPCC chief with Krishna a few months before the Assembly polls.

The two contenders to the throne have one more thing in common: both have been elected to the Assembly seven times in a row. Kharge from Gurmitkal (reserved) and Singh from Jewargi.