BENGALURU: With stakes high for the ruling Congress in the upcoming bypolls to the Davanagere South and Bagalkot Assembly constituencies, Karnaaka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar held serious discussions with All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and the party’s Karnataka in-charge, Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Monday.
Davanagere and Bagalkot seats fell vacant following the deaths of Congress leaders Shamanur Shivashankarappa, a Veerashiva Lingayat strongman, and HY Meti, a Kuruba leader, respectively.
Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, and Surjewala met at Jakkur aerodrome before flying to Chikkaballapur to take part in a protest organised by the Congress against the scrapping of MGNREGA, along with CM’s legal advisor AS Ponnanna and Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad, informed sources told The New Indian Express.
In a 45-minute informal talk, the issue of stiff competition in the party for tickets was discussed.
For Davanagere South, Shamanur Shivashankarappa’s son and Horticulture Minister SS Mallikarjun is urging the party to field his son Samarth, sources said. The name of Shamanur’s younger son, SS Ganesh, has also emerged. With Mallikarjun being a cabinet minister and his wife Dr Prabha Mallikarjun, an MP, the Congress high command is having second thoughts about fielding a member of the Shamanur family. Mallikarjun, who got wind of it, has been sulking and is even ready to quit as minister, a source said.
With 80,000 voters belonging to the Muslim community in the constituency, the community is seeking a ticket. They are claiming that Shamanur had promised to vacate the seat for a candidate from the community. Following this, MLC K Abdul Jabbar, with the backing of Housing Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, has emerged as a strong contender.
“If a Muslim is fielded by the Congress, the BJP may have an edge if Hindu and Muslim voters are polarised,” opined a political analyst.
Yet the Congress has to its credit being a ruling dispensation to turn the tables against the BJP. Congress won the Shiggaon bypoll by fielding a Muslim, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who defeated former CM Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharath.
“Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who was in charge of the polls for the Congress, had ensured Pathan’s victory by unifying the AHINDA voters,” the analyst added.
This time, he is likely to play a similar role in Bagalkot, where the competition is tough in the Congress for a ticket, as Meti’s sons, Mallikarjun and Umesh and daughters—former ZP president Bayakka Meti and Mahadevi Meti—have been bringing pressure on the Congress high command seeking a ticket. Satish Jarkiholi has held discussions to unite the Meti family. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to play a key role in persuading the warring siblings.