MYSURU: The Congress Chintan Shivir in Udaipur has rekindled hopes of young turks who see better prospects in the election year. The grand old party is discussing the demand for total revamp with a stringent policy of “one family, one ticket” by the Congress Youth brigade to facilitate better representation of youths in the party and elected bodies.
Hesitant to express their opinion in public, in private, they admitted that “one family, one ticket” policy will be a booster for the youths particularly those aspiring for a Congress ticket. It would curb nepotism, they felt, and would send a strong message to rejuvenate the party.
In Karnataka, for instance, more than 15 families have managed to get more than one seat in their family including KPCC president DK Shivakumar, Campaign Committee Chairman MB Patil, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, Shamanur Shiva Shnakarappa, Mallikarjuna Kharge, KH Muniyappa, former Ministers Ramalinga Reddy, Krishnappa and son Priya Krishna, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Ajay Singh and others.
Those who failed to bag two tickets for the Assembly elections have managed to get party ticket to the Legislative Council or have contested Lok Sabha polls which is one of the reasons for defections among loyal party workers and aspirants.Senior Congress workers requesting anonymity said that he had to quit the party as the Union Minister managed to field his own children in the Assembly election, ignoring the workers’ hard work for over two decades.
If a few selected families bag 30 to 50 seats of the 223 claiming legacy or get tickets for their wards, how do the party bosses expect Congress to grow in these constituencies, asked a young Congress leader.
Former legislators felt that the party had lost Jyotiraditya Scindia, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and other prospective candidates to appease the veterans. And so, they said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party’s senior leader Rahul Gandhi should avoid any further betrayal of the Congress workers which could damage the party’s revival before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
When contacted, KPCC working president R Druvanarayan said that the discussion on “one family, one ticket” is a good move which would strengthen the party. “I personally feel that I should retire from active politics if I want to introduce my son into politics,” he added.Political commentator Prof Musafar Azasi said the discussion on “one family, one ticket” is a step towards democratising the party, which can usher in qualitative, structural changes.
REJECT ANTI-CONVERSION ORDINANCE, CONGRESS URGES GOVERNOR
BENGALURU: The Congress party on on Friday urged Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot to reject the The Karnataka Protection of Rights to Freedom of Religion Ordinance. “The BJP government is trying to impose Anti-Conversion law on people through Ordinance to divert the attention of people,” Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah said and urged the Governor to reject the Ordinance. “Our law is capable of stopping conversion forced through incentives and threats. Then what is the need for the new law? The only reason is to threaten and harass the minorities,” he said. Calling the move a political agenda of the RSS, he said that true Hindus practice harmony and universal brotherhood. He said the Constitution allows individuals to freely convert to any religion.