Cong warns of disciplinary action if party leaders and workers if they don't support Nikhil Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: The State Congress has warned of disciplinary action against party workers and leaders in Mandya if they do not abide by its decision to support Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil of JD(S) as the coalition’s joint candidate there.

The warning by State congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao comes after repeated failed attempts by the party leadership, including him and CLP leader Siddaramaiah, to pacify Mandya Congress leaders, who are upset over decision to cede the seat to the JD(S), and are strongly opposing Nikhil’s candidature.

“If anyone goes against the decision of the party and not abide by it, it will be inevitable for us to take action against them,” Rao told reporters here. Stating that party men would have to function with “discipline”, he said the Congress was striving for th evictory of JD(S) candidates, where they are contesting and vice versa.

“So, we cannot think about Mandya as separate..if any of our leaders decides not to cooperate, ours is a national party, and it will be inevitable for us to take certain decisions,” he added. Congress leaders in Mandya have stayed away from campaigning with most of them even backing independent candidate and actress Sumalatha Ambareesh, who has the BJP’s support on her side.

Noting that party has put all its efforts in resolving the Mandya issue, Rao said Siddaramaiah and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda will jointly campaign there on April 12. He said Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also be visiting Mandya on April 13.

With open fissures in the ruling alliance, Gandhi during his recent visit to the state asked leaders and workers of his party and JD(S) to strive unitedly for the coalition victory in Lok Sabha polls as defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi was its target. Rao termed the incident where Congress workers allegedly shouted pro-Modi slogans at a party meeting in Hassan recently, as a non-issue.

“See..among hundred people, someone says something for a different reason- that is not an issue. It is not a big issue,” he said. At a meeting of Congress workers in Hassan’s Channarayapatna, a section of party men reportedly shouted pro-Modi slogans.

Prajwal Revanna, Nikhil’s cousin and grandson of Deve Gowda is the candidate from Hassan, Gowda’s family turf. Congress leaders in Hassan are opposed to the party ceding the seat to the JD(S).

Former Congress Minister A Manju, who recently joined the BJP, is the saffron party’s candidate from Hassan. Congress and JD(S) which had fought against each other in the old Mysuru region had joined hands to for man alliance, as the May 2018 assembly polls threw up a hung verdict.

Though the Congress and JD(S) leadership have decided to fight the Lok Sabha election together, it is not something that grass-root level workers of the parties agree with as both have been fighting each other for decades.