BENGALURU: Differences within Congress seem to have been ironed out, but party leaders, especially Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah, are in a fight to safeguard the interests of their supporters in seat selection.
“They are trying to get the numbers in their favour if the party comes to power. For instance, Shivakumar favoured former minister Motamma’s daughter Nayana’s candidature, among others, during the selection of candidates,” said a party insider.
Shivakumar took the seat battle to the Siddaramaiah camp by getting more tickets for his followers. But there seems to be a tacit understanding between the two leaders with Siddaramaiah not touching constituencies in the Vokkaliga belt of the Old Mysuru region, including Bengaluru, except for a few seats. Shivakumar has conceded regions where Kurubas, the community Siddaramaiah belongs to, are in sizable numbers, especially in the central Karnataka region, a source said. But this peace could only be short term, he warned.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge mostly went by the party surveys. But he has also managed to keep Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and other leaders to restrict themselves to the regions where they have some clout, sources said. This is evident from Vokkaliga leader Puttanna, who resigned as BJP MLC, being assured of Rajajinagar seat, while Siddarmaiah’s follower NY Gopalakrishna the Molakalmuru ticket.
Siddaramaiah is said to have backed Kimmane Rathnakar, Byrathi Suresh, Akhanda Srinivasmurthy, Santhosh Lad among others. Shivakumar supported Umapathy Gowda for Bommanahalli, Keshav Rajanna (Yelahanka) and Dhananjay (Dasarahalli), who are Vokkaligas.
There was confusion in Mandya and Hassan districts as Shivakumar has been backing novices, especially Muralimohan, who hails from Jigani in Anekal constituency.
Veterans, including M Veerappa Moily, Dr G Parameshwara and KH Muniyappa, tried to have their say, but failed as Kharge, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah prevailed, a source said. But the big question is whose faction will win how many seats. On this front, Shivakumar is at a disadvantage as JDS is still a strong force in Old Mysuru.