BENGALURU: Congress leader Siddaramaiah asked party president Rahul Gandhi to challenge the Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka, keeping up that such a move would befit somebody who's ready to become "the next Prime Minister of India". The Congress party leader tweeted, "Karnataka has constantly supported & encouraged @INCIndia leaders. This has been proved in the case of Smt Indiraji & Smt Soniaji. We also want our next Prime Minister of India Shri Rahul Gandhi to challenge from Karnataka & envoy a new formative worldview,"

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Fellow leader Dinesh Gundu Rao caught up with a similar plea soon after. "For the benefit of @INCKarnataka, I urge Rahul Gandhi to consider challenging from Karnataka for the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls. He should also be our delegate from South India & for that he ought to pick my state," he tweeted.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had emerged victorious against the BJP's Sushma Swaraj from Karnataka's Bellary in 1999. Indira Gandhi, her relative Prime Minister, had also scored a success against Janata Party candidate by 70,000 votes at Chikmagalur in 1978. This time, the Congress has clutched Bellary while giving its alliance partner - the Janata Dal (Secular) - have Chikmagalur.

The Congress has officially reported that Rahul Gandhi will challenge from Amethi and Sonia Gandhi from Rae Barelli, the party's traditional strongholds in Uttar Pradesh. The state Congress and Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular) have chosen on a 20-8 seat-sharing agreement to thwart the opposition BJP, with the Congress getting the larger share of the pie.

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