AAP disowns two fake candidates in Karnataka

The AAP Sunday disowned two "fake" candidates claiming to represent the party in Karnataka and said Hemant Kumar was its nominee in the Hubli-Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency.

"As Kumar is an official candidate from Hubli-Dharwad, the two (Sanjay Kothari and S.K. Patil) who filed nomination Saturday are neither our office bearers nor candidates from any seat," AAP state co-convener S. Hariharan told IANS.

Kumar is a founder member of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, a representative body of farmers in the state. Dharwad is located about 430 km from Bangalore.

Kothari and Patil filed papers with the returning officer at Dharwad in the presence of groups of people claiming to represent the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party.

"We do not approve of misrepresentation by anyone or any other unauthorized persons before the election or other state-run authorities," Sharma said.

The AAP learnt about the fake representation when Kumar was told by the returning officer that two candidates had already filed papers on behalf of the AAP.

The constituency in the state's northern region is represented by BJP's two-time winner P. Prahlad Joshi, who has been re-nominated from there for a third time. He is the BJP's state unit president.