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Congress looks to quell dissent ahead of 3rd list
Congress denied a ticket to former JD(S) MLA YSV Datta, a close aide of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, who quit JD(S) to join the party. Upset with denial of the ticket, Datta after a meeting with his supporters in Kadur, has declared that he would contest as an independent
After releasing two lists of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in the state, the Congress is taking its time over the third, and continues to deliberate on the remaining 58 seats amid dissent among aspirants who failed to make it to the list so far— with some dejected aspirants quitting the party.
Congress leaders including state unit chief DK Shivakumar and Opposition leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah met at AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi on Monday night to finalise the third list of candidates, but no decision was taken. Analysts believe the party could also be waiting for the Bharatiya Janata Party to release its first list to mop up some of its rival’s leaders who have been overlooked.
“Congress has already declared 166 seats and we have come to a consensus on over 40-45 seats. 10-15 seats are pending and we will release our third list in the next 2-3 days,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
While there was no major opposition to the party’s first list of 124 candidates that was announced on March 25, the second list of 42 candidates created trouble for the Congress.
“BJP has not released even the first list of candidates...We have already released the list of 166 candidates. We will announce the rest soon. We are looking at an auspicious time to do it,” Shivakumar told reporters on Tuesday.
In its second list, the Congress accommodated four turncoats , Baburao Chinchansur from Gurmitkal, SR Srinivas from Gubbi, NY Gopalakrishna from Molkalmuru and VS Patil from Yellapur causing disgruntlement among the party workers.
Congress denied a ticket to former JD(S) MLA YSV Datta, a close aide of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, who quit JD(S) to join the party. Upset with denial of the ticket, Datta after a meeting with his supporters in Kadur, has declared that he would contest as an independent.
In Chitradurga, Raghu Achar, a former Congress MLC expressed his ire after he was excluded from the second list, and announced that he would be joining the JD(S). While the Congress attempted to pacify him, Achar said the “Congress would not come to power” and that he would join the JD(S) on April 14.
The party has given the Chitradurga ticket to KC Veerendra, who is the son-in-law of film actor Doddanna. According to local Congress leaders, another ticket aspirant from Chitradurga, S K Basavarajan announced that he would field his wife Saubhagya as an independent candidate from the constituency.
“I was elected to the Gram Panchayat for the first time in 1993. Later, I was elected for Taluk and Zilla Panchayat and became the President of Zilla Panchayat. On the insistence of well-wishers, I’m contesting as an independent candidate instead of my husband,” Saubhagya said.
Meanwhile, former MLC Nagaraj Chabbi joined the BJP in Delhi on Sunday, as he was upset with the Congress rejecting his application for the Kalghatgi Assembly seat. The Congress has nominated Santosh Lad, a former minister, from the constituency. And HR Srinath, a former MLC, quit the party after being denied the ticket in Gangavathi. He is believed to have been approached by the BJP and a local party.
The difficulties of finalising the third list are exemplified by happenings in Dharwad West where the Congress wants to field Mohan Limbikai, who recently joined the party from the BJP. The problem? At least five aspirants have warned against this and threatened to contest as independent candidates. Limbikai, an ex-MLC and former legal advisor to Yediurappa, resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress last month.Similarly, in Kundgol, several aspirants have opposed the potential candidature of sitting MLA Kusumavati Shivalli.
The Congress leaders cited above said there is also no consensus yet over distribution of tickets to sitting MLAs of Pulakeshinagar, Sidlaghatta, Lingsugur, Kundgol and Harihar.
