Out in the cold, Roshan Baig prefers to turn activist
BENGALURU: Disqualified MLA R Roshan Baig, whose name figured in the IMA scam, appears to be the biggest loser this time -- he left the Congress but has not been embraced by the BJP. Neither is he contesting as an Independent from his stronghold, Shivajinagar.
A disillusioned Baig, who spoke to TNIE, made a politically correct statement, “I don’t want to contest just for ego’s sake. I will be a social activist.” Baig, who said he prefers to be an MLC, said the Muslim vote is split, and the constituency could swing any way.
With the BJP ignoring his claim for a ticket and naming former corporator M Saravana, Baig pointed out that the IMA scam was not the reason for it, and that the BJP had fielded Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Katta Subramanya Naidu, both of whom had been to jail.
Sources indicated that Baig was denied the ticket because BJP state vice-president Nirmal Kumar Surana, who lost to Baig twice, objected to it. In fact, he tried to revive the Rudresh murder case by leading his widowed wife to the party bosses and blaming Baig for it, although the NIA and local Commercial Street police absolved the former MLA of any involvement. Sources also indicated that the standoff between BJP leader BL Santosh and Yediyurappa had cost him the ticket.
Asked why he did not file his papers as an Independent, Baig said, “There is a strong anti-Muslim sentiment after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, and now the Ayodhya verdict... It is better I don’t contest this time.’’ Asked about son Ruman Baig not being given a BJP ticket, he said, “No comments.’’
Interestingly, the Muslim vote in Shivajinagar constituency, numbering around 60,000 of about 2 lakh voters, appears to be headed for a three-way split: between Rizwan Arshad (Congress), who lost two parliamentary elections back to back, Tanvir Ahmed, the JDS national spokesman, and Abdul Hannan, SDPI general secretary.
The constituency comprises seven wards — Vasanthnagar, Sampangiramnagar, Ulsoor, Jayamahal, Ramaswamipalya, Bharatinagar and Shivajinagar -- with the Big Three evenly poised in the wards. BJP’s Saravana has an edge, considering that Baig is expected to support him secretly, and because bypolls favour the ruling party. Saravana has emerged the favourite of the bookmakers and could be Bengaluru’s first Tamil-speaking MLA.
‘AIMPLB WRONG TO APPEAL’
The AIMPLB should not have gone for a review petition on the Ayodhya judgment. It was a wise judgment, and what the minorities want is peaceful coexistence and equal opportunities. The judgment will pave the way for this, said Roshan Baig, disqualified MLA