BENGALURU: Clearing the air over Congress candidate from Ramanagara Assembly constituency, Congress Election Committee (CEC) has selected Iqbal Hussain HA as their candidate, sources said. This ends the confusion over Bengaluru Rural Congress Lok Sabha member DK Suresh, brother of KPCC president DK Shivakumar, contesting from the same seat.
“I have covered almost all constituencies, travelling 950 km. I hope that Vokkaligas will also vote for me,” Iqbal told TNIE. Speculation was rife that Suresh might contest from the constituency against Nikhil, son of former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, after his mother Anitha declared she will sacrifice the Ramanagara seat for her son.
Nikhil, who expects to taste his first victory in Ramanagara, was defeated by Sumalatha Ambareesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It was from the same constituency, his father and grandfather HD Deve Gowda won, and went on to become chief ministers.
However, he would be relieved about not facing Suresh, a Vokkaliga, in Ramanagara. According to sources, during one of the community meetings with religious heads, they suggested Shivakumar and Suresh avoid a clash of Vokkaligas.
The community which wants to stake its claim on chief ministership should have at least 40 MLAs on their side, the religious heads suggested. Abiding by that decision, minority leader and a former ZP president, Iqbal, who was defeated by Kumaraswamy in 2018, is likely to take on Nikhil in the upcoming polls.
Of the 2.10 lakh voters in Ramanagara constituency, over 65,000 are Vokkaligas, 40,391 Muslims, 45,000 SC/STs, 9,000 Lingayats, 8,000 Tigalas, 7,000 Kurubas and the rest from other backward classes.