Bengaluru: The Congress party has decided to field Kusuma, wife of Late IAS officer DK Ravi for the RR Nagar by-polls.

It may be recalled that the celebrated IAS officer had reportedly committed suicide on March 16, 2015 at his residence in Koramangala.

There were speculations that an upright officer like Ravi may not have committed suicide, but may have been murdered.

After Ravi’s death, Kusuma had remained away from public eye and her decision to join politics comes as a surprise.

Her father Hanumantharayappa is a local Congress leader and belongs to vokkaliga community.

In RR Nagar constituency, vokkaligas and Muslims are the decisive factors due to their population. Keeping this in mind, the Congress has decided to field Kusuma.

“In the last two elections, Congress leader Muniratna won easily because of the support of DK Shivakumar, who is also a Vokkaliga leader. However this time, DKShi wants to teach a lesson to Muniratna,” said a Congress leader.

Meanwhile, the JDS is also likely to field a vokkaliga candidate, but party leaders are reportedly not interested in the election.