Bengaluru: For the first time since he came to power in May 2013, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has tasted a political defeat. In the proxy war between “outsiders” led by Siddaramaiah and “insiders” opposed to him, the Chief Minister has suffered a huge setback.
Hebbala, one of the Assembly seats in Bengaluru city is going to by-polls on February 13. The seat was earlier held by the BJP. Its MLA died in last November. Siddaramaiah had declared that his coterie member and a sitting MLC Byrathi Suresh would be contesting on the Congress ticket. Even the Congress in charge of Karnataka Digvijaya Singh had fully backed Siddaramaiah’s move. The Chief Minister’s brazen casteism and favouritism were opposed by top leaders of the party including M Mallikarjuna Kharge, BK Hariprasad and CK Jaffer Sharief.
The one time stalwart of the Congress and former Union Railways minister CK Jaffer Sharief had demanded the ticket for his grandson Rehman Sharief. Rehman had lost the 2013 Assembly election from the same seat. Siddaramaiah’s decision to announce the candidature ignoring his claims had enraged Jaffer Sharief. By putting enormous pressure on the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he finally managed to secure ticket for his grandson on Tuesday night. According to inside sources, a shocked Siddaramaiah, tried to persuade Sonia Gandhi. But, she firmly told him that she was not going to give the ticket to his man.
The sudden development has emboldened the leaders opposed to Sharief. In the last two and a half years, Siddaramaiah promoted his coterie which came to the Congress from the Janata Dal like him. His open nepotism had angered the original Congress leaders from Karnataka, who always felt slighted at the hands of Chief Minister whom most of them still consider an “outsider”. When Siddaramaiah went ahead with the name of Byrathi Suresh, these leaders ganged up and taught him a lesson by snatching the ticket from his hands. It has sent shock waves across the Siddaramaiah camp, which is hated by the original Congress leaders and workers.
Jaffer Sharief who won 8 Lok Sabha elections between 1971 and 2004, never shared a good relationship Siddaramaiah. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he was denied the ticket from Bengaluru Central. Sharief who felt humiliated was waiting for a chance to get even with Siddaramaiah. When Siddaramaiah once again humiliated him denying the ticket to his grandson, a livid Sharief used all his clout to get the ticket for his grandson. Even leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha M Mallikarjuna Kharge who also does not share a cordial relationship with Siddaramaiah, rushed to New Delhi to put pressure on Sonia Gandhi. Bowing to the pressure, the Congress high command had to drop Siddaramaiah’s candidate to accommodate Sharief’s grandson at the last minute.
According to political watchers in Bengaluru, this development will surely have far reaching implications. Siddaramaiah who always ignored the original Congress workers and leaders will have to accommodate them, if he wants to stay in power till May 2018. Digvijaya Singh who is also accused of siding with Siddaramaiah has lost face.
The original leaders of the Congress are likely to up the ante against Siddaramaiah, Digvijaya Singh and “outsiders” in the coming days.
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