Even after state win, Karnataka Congress finds it difficult to field candidates for LS polls: Reports

According to reports, several ministers of the state, which is also the home state of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, have already turned down the request to contest.

No one wants to leave positions of power in the state and dive into uncertainty, NDTV reported quoting sources.

In the 2019 general election, the BJP won 25 seats while the Congress won one and HD Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal Secular (JDS), which is currently in alliance with the BJP, won one seat.

One seat went to an Independent, supported by the BJP.

This time, with the party's victory in the state in last year's assembly election and a good response to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress is hoping for a change in luck.

According to reports, the party's central leadership wants ministers of the Siddaramaiah government to contest some of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats.

The ministers on the Central leaders' list include Satish Jarkiholi, B Nagendra, Krishna Byre Gowda, K H Muniyappa, H K Patil and Ishwar Khandre. But NDTV's sources said none are on the same page.

Several, including Lakshmi Hebbalkar, have refused.