Bommai's dig at Congress: Inability to choose CM early reflects on its internal situation
Bengaluru, May 17: Outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said the "inability" of the Congress to decide on the new Chief Minister early, despite having a complete majority, reflects on the internal situation of the party.
He urged the Congress to settle the issue of government formation soon.
His comments came amid intense speculation over who will be the next chief minister, with the Congress saying on Wednesday afternoon that a decision on it is likely later today or Thursday, and a new Cabinet in the State will be in place in the next 48 to 72 hours.
"People have voted for the Congress party hoping that a change of government will bring a lot of prosperity to the state as well as the people. They are yet to finalise their CM candidate. It is their internal matter, I don't want to discuss much on that," he said in response to a question.
The "inability" to choose a CM early is a reflection on the party, Bommai claimed. "Despite having a complete majority, the party is unable to decide its leader. This shows the internal situation of the party."
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"Aspirations of the people are more important than politicking. They (Congress) should settle the issue of a new chief minister and government formation as soon as possible," he added.
Hectic parleys are on in New Delhi as former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is in stiff competition with state Congress president D K Shivakumar to become the CM.
The party won the Assembly polls by securing 135 seats.
Responding to a question about the representation Congress may give Lingayats and Vokkaligas and other communities in the government, Bommai said, "let's see what they do".
He alleged that the grand old party had tried to appease the Lingayat community before the May 10 polls.
"Especially Congress leaders spoke so much about Lingayats and tried to appease them. Let us see what positions they give, whether they will give the office of CM, or Deputy CM or Minister. The community is also watching," he said.
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Davanagere South bypoll: Cong Muslim leaders allege internal conspiracy to defeat party candidate
Bengaluru (PTI): 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.
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 regarding this at the party office here.
"It is a sad thing that some senior leaders of our own party have conspired to defeat the Congress, despite this minorities have voted for the Congress. KPCC President (D K Shivakumar), the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) and the AICC General Secretary (Randeep Singh Surjewala) are aware of this. People have voted for Congress, its ideology and its five guarantee schemes," Ahmed said.
Noting that Samath Mallikarjun was given a ticket after taking all minority leaders of the party into confidence and following their consent, he said, "But after that because of some misconceptions, conspiracies have been hatched. But still, I'm confident that Congress candidate Samarth will win".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership regarding attempts for "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not indicate who they were accusing. Several party sources said their attack was directed at Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, among a few others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, had initially stayed away from campaigning in the segment, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities. However, he addressed a press meet along with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
MLA Arshad said that there was a massive social media campaign against the Congress party, by the BJP, SDPI and Independents, alleging "betrayal" of the minorities by the Congress. Some within the party, too, tried to project the same.
"We indeed demanded a ticket for the minority, and the party considered it. However, since we, as minority leaders, had to provide a unanimous candidate, we only put forward Abdul Jabbar's name because he is the MLC from the region, and he also pressured us. I think we first failed there, as ground-level party workers did not accept it and some other leaders believed he wasn't that popular," he said.
Arshad noted that the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate "after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence".
"However, some of us Muslim leaders who worked for the party's official candidate were projected as anti-Muslim on social media," he claimed.
Some leaders who accepted the party's decision to nominate Samarth as the party candidate during the meeting called to decide it later showed indirect signs of resistance, he said. "An attempt was made by others, including some within the Congress, to project that the Congress has betrayed the Muslims. This has caused us pain."
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.
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.
