The results of the youth Congress elections in Karnataka have further widened cracks between senior leaders in the party and are likely to add to its problems in the state, said political observers.
Mohammed Harris Nalapad, the son of Congress legislator NA Harris, was disqualified even though he won 64,203 out of the over 1.5 lakh valid votes polled, while Raksha Ramaiah, who polled 57,271 votes, was declared the president of the youth Congress.
Nalapad was backed by Congress president D K Shivakumar while Ramaiah was backed by leader of the opposition, Siddaramaiah, among others.
Shivakumar's request to back Harris was overlooked by Siddaramaiah, one person aware of the developments said. The power play between the two sides led to a money splurge to win the poll, he added.
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The internal tussle seen over youth Congress polls has brought the focus back on the power tussle within the state unit of Congress, says a political expert.
{{/usCountry}}The internal tussle seen over youth Congress polls has brought the focus back on the power tussle within the state unit of Congress, says a political expert.
{{/usCountry}}“Backing any candidate carries the risk of satisfying one group and the other will be unhappy. It is a positive that they have rejected a candidate (Nalapad) on a principled stand as he has pending issues and run-ins with the law. But despite his (Nalapad) issues and run-ins with the law, him managing to secure such a large number of votes is a matter of concern,” A.Narayana, a political expert and faculty with Azim Premji University said.