BENGALURU: The list of unhappy Congress politicians is growing in the state. Tumkur MP Muddahanume Gowda seems to be one of the most unhappy politicians. He met his ‘displeased and unhappy’ supporters at his farmhouse in Hebbur, Tumkur. The Congress rebel then decided to contest as an independent candidate and says he will file his nomination on Monday.
Another example is that of former Commissioner of Police H T Sangliana. The former MP and vice-chairman of National Minorities Commission said he is the only Christian among the proposed Congress candidates and his chances of being given a ticket appear bleak. His supporters are urging him to raise the banner of revolt. Sangliana has planned a big meeting with supporters on Sunday to decide his next move. He was denied ticket last time, but in 2009, he lost by a little over 30,000 votes.
In Mandya, there are many unhappy Congressmen. Local leader Sachidananda was shown the door after he was seen on the dias with Sumalatha. More Congress leaders have been pulled up for supporting Sumalatha, wife of late Ambareesh. Rebel MLA Dr Umesh Jadhav, who left the party. MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumathalli and B Nagendra figured in the unhappy list too.
One Congressman said, “The ground-level intelligence of the party is poor. From Kalaburagi district alone, many unhappy leaders have quit. Malikkayya Guttedar, a six-time MLA quit, soon after former minister Baburao Chinchansoor quit, following Dr Umesh Jadhav and now Malaka Reddy.’’
In Kolar, K H Muniyappa is a seven-time MP, but there is a long list of local leaders who are unhappy with his candidature. One Congress leader said, “The disaffection is engineered.’’ When asked about Muddahanume Gowda, Sangliana and others, KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “Some of them are too senior.’’ He meant to say they would sort it out.Speaking about Muddahanume Gowda, the Deputy CM and district in-charge minister Dr G Parameshwara said, “I will speak to him. We don’t want BJP to win while the secular votes are divided. I tried to reach him this morning but could not.”