BENGALURU/KOLAR: As internal bickering plagues Congress, former AICC president Rahul Gandhi’s Jai Bharat rally in Kolar is unlikely to give rich dividends to the party. There is a cold war prevailing between two factions with former Assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, Srinivaspur MLA and Kolar Congress candidate Kothur G Manjunath on one side, and former Lok Sabha member KH Muniyappa on the other, sources said.
Staunch supporters of Muniyappa have switched to JDS recently. In Mulbagal, Anand Reddy, an influential leader who had also run for Kolar district Congress president, along with 10 other top leaders, have switched to JDS to back Samrddhi Manjunath.
Ramachandrappa, who was defeated in Bangarpet in 2008, and a Muniyappa loyalist, also switched to JDS. He will be supporting former Kolar zilla parishad president Mangamma Muniswami’s son M Mallesh Babu, the brother-in-law of IAS officer Manjunath Prasad of JDS.
With Congress losing its leaders to JDS, Muniyappa opted for Devanahalli in Bengaluru Rural and took on JDS MLA Nisarga Narayanaswamy. But the battle became tough for his daughter M Roopakala in the KGF seat as RPI candidate Rajendra, a two-time MLA, is back on track, sources said. Kolar MP S Muniswamy has been supporting BJP candidate Ashwini Sampangi, daughter of two-time MLA Y Sampangi, who lost in the 2018 Assembly polls.
Ramesh Kumar, who will take on Venkatashiva Reddy of JDS, and other Kolar leaders had been insisting that Siddaramaiah become Kolar candidate which will have a cascading effect. But Congress high command seems to have some other plan. After the minority community protested against the choice of candidate, Kothur G Manjunath has been backtracking and might sacrifice the seat for Siddaramaiah, a source said. Ramesh Kumar was even prepared to skip Rahul’s rally as Siddaramaiah was denied a Kolar ticket. He was persuaded by AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala.
In Malur too, sitting MLA KY Nanje Gowda is also battling factionalism within the party, with some Congress leaders going against him to the AICC bosses. “Rahul’s visit is unlikely to have a huge impact on the party’s prospects in the district unless the leaders are united,” said a Congress leader.