It was a surprise announcement, as the Congress on Sunday named Rajya Sabha member B.K. Hariprasad as its candidate from Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency. Bengaluru South which saw a high profile contest last time in 2014  between Late Ananth Kumar and IT wizard Nandan Nilekani . This time after the demise of  Ananth Kumar, the choice of candidates was being curiously watched as both the Congress-JD(S) alliance and the BJP had delayed revealing them.

The constituency had came to the Congress in the seat-sharing arrangement arrived at with the JD(S). Mr. Hariprasad, who rose from National Students’ Union of India ranks to become the party’s general secretary and a Rajya Sabha member, had unsuccessfully contested against Ananth Kumar in 1999.

Congress sources said Mr. Hariprasad’s candidature came as a surprise for most partymen as he had been keen on Bengaluru Central and Uttara Kannada. “However, the party chose Rizwan Arshad for Bengaluru Central]as it wanted a minority face for the seat,” a party source said.

Sources said most leaders were not mentally prepared to contest in Bengaluru South where Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, wife of the late Union Minister, is the frontrunner to get the BJP ticket. However, there is now uncertainty over who the saffron party will pick for the seat. “Also, the Congress has lost most Assembly segments in the Lok Sabha constituency to the BJP, which makes the fight tougher,” a source said.

The party decision to go with Mr. Hariprasad as he is “a familiar and credible face” has set the ball rolling for an interesting contest as the BJP also ignorred  Tejaswini Ananth Kumar , and opted to go for Yuva Morcha General Secretary Tejasvi Surya  whose uncle Ravi Subhramanya represents the Basavangudi constituency in Bengaluru South.

Interestingly both the Congress and BJP candidates are known for their penchant for making controversial statements