BENGALURU: The election commission of the party has disqualified 47,000 votes cast during the State Youth Congress election, and it is still being sorted out as to why these votes were not counted, newly-elected Karnataka Youth Congress president Raksha Ramaiah told The New Indian Express on Sunday.
“The recount is yet to happen and the Congress election commission at the national level has taken up the issue,” he said.
“Since the announcement has already been made, I take over as president officially. The date will be set and we are seeking permission to organise the oath-taking ceremony outside Bengaluru. Youth Congress members carried out a recce on Thursday and are looking at a location in central Karnataka, mostly in Davanagere or Ballari. Traditionally, the ceremony is conducted in Bengaluru, but this time it will be away from the capital to allow Youth Congress members from these parts to integrate better with the party,” he added.
Asked about the perceived rift between him and defeated Youth Congress president post contestant Mohammed Nalapad, he said, “I know Nalapad ‘anna’ well and we have worked together. The issue of disqualification was doing the rounds for about two months and the issue is going to be sorted out internally. It is not true that Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and Congress president DK Shivakumar supported different candidates for the Youth Congress president’s post.”
Asked about the weak social media wing of the party, Raksha, who worked with the team nationally before resigning to contest the Youth Congress president election, said, “I would like to ensure that Youth Congress workers are integrated with the quick response team to respond to challenges, including those on social media.”
On getting tickets for Youth Congress leaders to contest elections, he said it is important for them to get experience of contesting in polls, and party cadres will be encouraged to participate in the upcoming ZP and BBMP polls.
KPCC president D K Shivakumar on Sunday denied that there are factions within Youth Congress.
“They are all our boys. We need to pool in our efforts and work towards making Karnataka BJP mukt,” he added.