BENGALURU: Making an all-out effort to win back Ballari Lok Sabha seat which had elected Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi in 1999, Congress has formed a 64-member jumbo team of senior leaders. The team headed by party's 'troubleshooter' and Water Resources minister includes seven ministers and a long line-up of senior leaders, MPs, MLAs and MLCs.
DK Shivakumar, who was the KPCC Campaign Committee chairman during the recent assembly election and is presently the district in-charge minister, has been made the overall in-charge of the team to work out strategies, manage resources and lead the charge in Ballari bypoll in which party MLC VS Ugrappa has been pitted against J Shantha of BJP.
The party leadership has assigned responsibility of ensuring the lead for party candidate in each of the eight Assembly segments in Ballari Lok Sabha constituency to eight prominent leaders, each heading an Assembly constituency. It includes six ministers: Ramesh Jarkiholi(Kudligi), Shivashankar Reddy (Hagari Bommanahalli), Krishna Byre Gowda (Ballari Rural), Priyank Kharge (Sandur), UT Khader (Ballari City), Rajashekar Patil (Hadagali).
Former minister Sharana Prakash Patil has been made in-charge of Vijayanagar and party MP Dhruvanarayan is the in-charge for Kampli.
However, the ongoing game of political one-upmanship between DK Shivakumar and Jarkiholi brothers—Ramesh and Satish Jarkiholi—is threatening to spill over to Ballari and cause a few worries for Congress.
Expressing his displeasure over DK Shivakumar's style of functioning, Ramesh has conveyed his disinterest to take part in a joint campaign with Shivakumar. However, he has assured his full participation in the campaign. "Any one who struts around with a swagger cannot become a leader. I have been requested by party high command to campaign in Ballari and I will do that. I need not look up to those who show swagger," Ramesh said.