BENGALURU: Congress leader KGF Babu pitching for a ticket from the Chickpet Assembly segment in Bengaluru, an alarmed RV Devaraj, former MLA from the constituency, met KPCC president DK Shivakumar and discussed the issue. Party sources said that in addition to Babu, another Muslim leader Mansur Khan too is interested in the constituency, which has over 40,000 minority voters. The developments are indicating that a ticket war could break out within the party.
The fact that Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar camps have their own favourites from each constituency has not helped matters. Many aspirants have already come out to say that they have the support of one of the camps. With the opposition party aiming to come back to power in 2023 and seeking to put up a united front, such turf could turn out to be a big headache for the Grand Old Party.
Add to this constituencies like KR Puram, Yeshwanthpur and RR Nagar, from where Congress candidates have switched over to BJP. Each of these seats has more than one claimant from the party. Roshan Baig’s exit and victory of first-timer Rizwan Arshad from the Shivajinagar constituency means that Rizwan is safe for the moment. Sitting MLAs, like Dinesh Gundu Rao from Gandhinagar, KJ George from Sarvajna Nagar, NA Haris from Shanthinagar, M Krishnappa from Vijaynagar, Krishna Byre Gowda from Byatarayanapura, Akhanda Srinivas Murthy from Pulakeshinagar, Ramalinga Reddy from BTM and Sowmya Reddy from Jayanagar are strong in their constituencies and the tickets will go to them. Obviously there is not much room for play here.
Congress is also thinking of announcing the candidates early, which will give a few months for them to prepare for the polls. But on the flip side, it will allow those aspirants who are left out to rebel. The fact that senior Congress leader Rehman Khan recently issued an official disciplinary notice to KGF Babu shows that the party is serious about curbing the problem of party infighting.