BENGALURU: Despite a strong regional sentiment among people of Kodagu, Congress has given the MLC ticket from the district to Manthar Gowda, who is from the neighbouring Hassan district. There has been much resentment with the move among the local people, while many within the party too criticised the decision. Taking advantage of the situation, BJP MLA Madikeri Appachu Ranjan chided Congress, saying the party had to import a candidate from another district as it could not pick a local leader.
Sources said that Congress in Kodagu has around 350-plus votes as compared to BJP’s 850-plus and faces a definite defeat. The choice of Manthar Gowda will only make it worse for the party, they added. Not just in Kodagu, the choice of candidates for the MLC polls has caused resentment in other places too. The party’s decision to field Channaraja Basavaraja Hattiholi, who is the brother of MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar, from Belagavai has upset local party workers. They ask as to why Hebbalkar’s family should be allowed to grab more posts, when she is already an MLA. There should be an equitable distribution of power among all sections of party workers, they argued.
The party unit in Mandya too is miffed with the candidature of Gooli Gowda, who is being seen as an outsider. They pointed out that there are dozens of local leaders who could have been given the ticket. Gooli Gowda, who served with minister ST Somashekar, is considered a backdoor entrant. In Chitradurga, there is disenchantment over the candidature of B Somashekar, who too is considered not from the district.