BENGALURU: In a deft compromise move, the Congress high command has decided to settle for CK Abdul Rahman Sharief, the grandson of former union minister C K Jaffer Sharief as the candidate from the Hebbal constituency in the upcoming by-polls in Karnataka.
This also temporarily puts a check on the tiff between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge, as the high command granted a ticket to Shareif by snubbing MLC Byrathi, a close aide of Siddaramaiah. With a group of party old timers unhappy with the Chief Minister’s wish to grant a ticket to Byrathi, the high command has shown faith in the Sharief family, which has a long affiliation with the Congress.
Being a Congress old-timer Rahman and Sharief met CM Siddaramaiah at his residence and sought his help for the elections. This obviously would mean Siddaramaiah supports Sharief, who is also the richest candidate from Hebbal constituency with properties worth Rs 25 crore.
Party’s decision to zero in on Sharief also comes as a big blow for the Karanataka CM. And not just that; it also raises questions on whether Siddaramaiah’s free run in the Congress will come to an end after the zilla and taluka panchayat polls. Ever since joining the party from JD(S) in 2006, Siddaramaiah had so far enjoyed a smooth run. He even managed to ‘sideline’ Kharge in the party.
First, he replaced Kharge as the leader of opposition in the Assembly and then went on to become the CM, surpassing the veteran leader. He was also successful in sending Kharge out of state politics by forcing him to contest Lok Sabha elections.
But what the CM miscalculated was the fact that Kharge had developed a strong clout in the corridors of Delhi.
The high command, which had given Siddaramaiah a free hand in running the government and even kept quiet when the plum portfolios were given to his followers migrating to Congress, acted firm on handing over the ticket to Congress loyalist Sharief. In the last few months, the Congress old-timers were unhappy with the way the CM operated things, and this decision would perhaps give them a balm ahead of the polls.
What Siddaramaiah failed to realise was the fact that the number of party’s old guards have gone up substantially and their equation with Delhi have also changed for the good. Thinking that the party bosses will back him as before, the CM unilaterally decided to field Byrathi, who belongs to CM’s Kuruba community.
This irked old timers including Kharge, and the duo even got into war of words in public. “Who is Byrathi Suresh? I know he is an MLC, but he is not a Congress member,” Kharge said.
The CM thought that Kharge would not retaliate. But aware of senior leaders’ dissent, old gun Kharge brought all of them together and played a minority card by demanding ticket for Sharief, who had lost the seat in 2013 Assembly election by a margin of 5,000 votes.
Kharge also pulled the strings at the highest level in the party using his recently developed influence while explaining Muslim dominated voter profile of the constituency. And to avoid further trouble ahead of the polls, the party high command decided to take the middle path.
How things panned
■ CM Siddaramaiah looks to give a ticket to his close aide MLC Byrathi from Hebbal constituency in the by-polls
■ This irks party's old guards, including Mallikarjun Kharge, who raise questions over Byrathi's credibility.
■ Fearing an unrest within the party, Congress high command settles for old-timer CK Jaffer Sharief's grandson CK Abdul Rahman Shareif as the candidate. Shariefs even meet CM