Siddaramaiah’s Congress high command fields 'loyalists': sets back 'migrant'

Bengaluru: The Congress high summons’s selection of contender for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from the state is viewed as a misfortune to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had been rising as a powerful regional leader of the party.

While offering priority to young and loyal leaders Nasir Hussain, L Hanumanthaiah and G C Chandrashekhar, the high order has disregarded names proposed by the Chief Minister. The high charge’s choice in such manner is likewise seen as a triumph to the party “Loyalists” and hit to “migrants” in the state unit.

The Loyalists (leaders who have been with the party for over decades) and the migrants (the individuals who moved from different party in the recent years) have been at loggerheads from the time Siddaramaiah (who is also considered a migrant) became the Chief Minister of the state. The followers had been grumbling that they were being sidelined and, henceforth, a segment of these wronged leaders had kept themselves far from the crusade for the Assembly elections.

Nasir Hussain, who is the gathering’s first applicant in the Rajya Sabha elections, is an AICC representative. He hails from Ballari. L Hanumanthaiah, who is a Dalit writer, is the party’s second applicant. He hails from Doddaballapur in Bengaluru Rural area. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had sponsored their candidature.

G C Chandrashekhar, who is the third candidate, is a nearby adherent of KPCC president G Parameshwara. He has a place with the Vokkaliga people group.

Siddaramaiah had proposed the name of his nearby associate and real estate broker P R Channa Reddy as the third candidate and exhorted the party to handle a leader from the Lingayat people group, which he is attempting to charm in upcoming Assembly elections, the sources said. He was enthusiastic about handling veteran leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa who has been contradicting the express government’s turn to accord isolate religion tag to the Lingayat faith.

However, the high summon pacified the Dalit left wing group (Madigas) by handling Hanumanthaiah. The people group has been annoyed with the decision Congress for not giving interior reservation. Also, Chandrashekar was chosen as the third applicant with an end goal to charm Vokkaligas, who hosted been grumbling that the gathering had dismissed them by not given them appropriate portrayal.

Siddaramaiah’s only advantage is that the high command has passed by his advice to not to help the JD(S) in the elections planned on March 23. He had cautioned that supporting the JD(S) would be deciphered by the Opposition parties that the decision party isn’t sure of winning the coming Assembly polls.