Stone pelting on Sena candidates in Pune: Won't get scared by such cowardly politics, says Shinde
Pune (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday decried the alleged incident of stone pelting on Shiv Sena candidates campaigning for the January 15 Pune civic polls and said he and his workers are not scared of such cowardly politics.
Shinde's party colleague Pramod Nana Bhangire had alleged that stones were thrown at him and Sarika Pawar, both candidates from ward number 41, in Kale Padal in Hadapsar late Wednesday evening. Pawar sustained a minor injury in the incident, while the windscreen of their car was damaged, Bhangire had claimed.
Addressing a rally in Katraj here, Shinde, mentioning the incident, said, "I warn the opposition parties to not indulge in such cowardly acts. Shiv Sainiks will not get scared. We are Balasaheb Thackeray's sainiks. The Shiv Sena does not leave its workers to fend for themselves."
Shinde also mentioned an incident in Mumbai, where BJP workers allegedly used the '50 khokhe' (Rs 50 crore) slogan to target the Shiv Sena. The slogan was coined by the Uddhav Thackeray faction following the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has routinely alleged that Shinde and his rebels got Rs 50 crore each to break the party.
Underplaying the slogan episode, Shinde said his party and the BJP are contesting the Mumbai civic polls jointly and putting up a strong united fight.
Shinde exuded confidence that the Shiv Sena will show its might in Pune.
"Do not take Shiv Sena lightly just because it is contesting polls on its own. Shiv Sena runs on the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. It is Hindutva ideology," he added.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are fighting polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad separately, while Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party has tied up with Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Speaking at the rally, Shinde took a swipe at former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
"Some people consider themselves as owners but the real owners are citizens. It is the people who decide who to take up and who to bring down," he said.
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Bypolls: K'taka Cong Minority Abdul Jabbar chief resigns amid allegations of 'internal conspiracy'
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress Minority Department President K Abdul Jabbar announced his resignation from the post on Saturday, a day after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of "conspiring" to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
Jabbar, an MLC, was an aspirant for the Congress ticket from the Davanagere South Assembly segment.
"It has been an honor for me to serve as Chairman of the KPCC Minority department and have worked to the best of my ability during assembly elections 2023 and followed by Parliament polls and many such occasions whenever the party needed the minority department and showed results. I have toured the entire state of Karnataka and worked to align the minorities with Congress values and principles. Most of it is available in the public domain," Jabbar has said in a letter to the party.
"Minority voters and minority office bearers are the backbone of our great Congress party and certainly deserve better," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, confirmed Jabbar's resignation.
"I won't speak about this now, I have got some reports. The Minority President has submitted his resignation. I will verify things, I will seek a report from local leaders after that I will speak," he told reporters in response to a question on internal conspiracy.
A rift within the Karnataka Congress surfaced on Friday, a day after the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in the state, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged a "conspiracy" by some of their own senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
However, they asserted that despite efforts by some within to project that Congress "betrayed" Muslims, the party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun will win in Davanagere South, the constituency where the community has a significant presence.
They said the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence. Despite this, a massive campaign, including from some within the party, projected the Congress as having "betrayed" the minorities by denying them tickets.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders addressed a joint press conference on Friday, claiming an "internal conspiracy".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership, alleging "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not name anyone, several party sources said their attack was directed at State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and Jabbar among others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, initially stayed away from campaigning in the constituency, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities.
However, he addressed a press meet with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Jabbar too had not actively participated in the campaigning, despite hailing from Davanagere.
Bypolls for Davanagere South were held along with Bagalkot on Thursday. The election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti respectively. Samarth is the grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, there are apprehensions within the party about a split in votes, which could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community strongly demanded the Congress ticket for Davanagere South. Some party factions had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress was successful in persuading rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the contest, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
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