BENGALURU : It’s been at least two months since the Karnataka State Youth Congress elections were held, and Raksha Ramaiah was declared winner after an ugly standoff. The other contender for the post was Mohammed Nalapad. Technically, the matter has to be taken before the Indian Youth Congress, who in consultation with the AICC, declares the final winner. This process has not been done, and the final announcement has been mysteriously kept in abeyance.
Clearly, it has become a hot-potato issue, with even senior leaders hesitant to take it up. It may be recalled that the winner on the basis of votes was Nalapad, who polled more than 7,000 votes, but was unexpectedly disqualified, and Ramaiah was declared the winner. This was heavily contested by Congressmen who asked why he was not disqualified during the process of scrutiny before the polls, and say that the disqualification was an obvious afterthought.
KPCC president D K Shivakumar has attempted to avoid an ugly confrontation that could well split the Congress vertically, saying that “they are all our boys’’. He has carefully avoided pitching them against each other, and instead, has given them individual responsibilities -- while Raksha Ramaiah has been given charge of Maski, Nalapad is overseeing the Basavakalyan bypolls.
Ramaiah and his team members have been working in Maski, where Congress MLA Prathapgouda Patil deserted the Congress and joined the BJP, and where former BJP candidate BG Turvihal is contesting from the Congress. Nalapad and his team are in nearby Basavakalyan, where Narayan Rao’s wife Malamma is the candidate. Both Youth Congress leaders are coordinating with local Youth Congress units to campaign, and have been going door-to-door to appeal for votes.
One Congress leader who had served in the Youth Congress for many years, said on condition of anonymity, that the party was focussing on the bypolls, and the issue would be decided after the April 17 vote.