Congress aspirants quiet as final ticket selection is done by High Command

Bengaluru: The activities regarding the selection of the Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha elections have been quiet for the time being and all the aspirants are focused on the high command.

In the last assembly elections, the Congress got the highest number of votes in the eight assembly constituencies under the jurisdiction of the Lok Sabha, so there is a lot of competition for the Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. However, factionalism in the Congress party has made the contest of aspirants confusing. Since the last five or six months, calculations were going on that who could be the Congress candidate for Kolar constituency. Several leaders announced their names as aspirants.

Some were involved in various types of lobbying in the high command circles. However, none of the aspirants had started organising party in the constituency. Because, the reason for the confusion of the aspirants was they do not know from which team they need to get permission to build the party organisation. KH Muniyappa won from Congress ticket for eight consecutive elections in the Kolar constituency. This time also he is trying for a Congress ticket. Apart from him there are 12 other aspirants to contest for the Congress ticket. K H Muniyappa’s son-in-law Chikkapeddanna, Mudugangadhar, CM Muniyappa, H Nagesh, Sampangere Muniraju was seen trying for the ticket. Belaganahalli Munivenkattapa, Dr. Lohith, Shanthakumari and others have not given up their efforts. Every aspirant is trying for a ticket through high command leaders.

After all kinds of efforts, now they are waiting for the High Command to make a decision. As Kolar is a reserved constituency, there are calculations as to who will get the Congress ticket from the Dalit Left or Right. There are a total of five reserved constituencies in Karnataka, two of which are SC- right and two SC- left candidates. In the remaining one, tickets are being given to another important community in the Scheduled List. This time there are chances of Dalit right wing candidates in Gulbarga and Chamarajanagar constituencies. Similarly, in Chitradurga and Kolar, Dalits were left-wing candidates. There are calculations that if Chitradurga, Vijayapur will be given to SC-left, Kolar will be given to SC- right candidate. A strong opposition group to KH Muniappa is working in the Kolar District Congress. A group led by former speaker Ramesh Kumar has put pressure on the party to give ticket to a Dalit right-wing candidate from Kolar constituency. If a ticket is given to a Dalit right-wing candidate, it will be their responsibility to make them win. It is said that if the high command gives a ticket to someone due to any pressure, they have claimed we will try our best, it is not our responsibility to win or lose.

Food Minister KH Muniappa is demanding a SC- left candidate through certain conditions before the party to demand a SC- right candidate from his opposition group. Kolar constituency should be given to Dalit left candidate. Especially since he has been representing Kolar continuously, he has made it clear before the high command that he should be given ticket or to someone from his family or to those whom he has suggested. It is said that he has demanded reconciliation with the opposition group of his own party, which caused his defeat in the past.

Amidst the demands of the left and right, recently there has been a clamor to give Congress ticket to another SC- right community, Renuka Yallamma Chiktali community. The opposition group is arguing that the Kolar ticket should be given to the SC- right, and as a counter strategy, KH Muniappa through his own supporters has insisted that the SC- right should be given to the Chiktali community. A delegation of Chiktali leaders has already made a request to the senior leaders of the party in this regard.

Since six months, both the groups continued to strategize for the election of Congress candidate in Kolar constituency. Dalit right-wing leaders, who are the majority in the constituency, are divided in the bickering of Congress groups. Now these two groups are behind the five or six aspirants. However, both the groups are not giving away the secret about who wants the ticket. Clearly neither group is making demands in favor of any candidate. The leaders have made the demand for tickets confusing.

The aspirants who have made all kinds of efforts at the field, state high command level, have formulated strategy, every strategy, Kolar Congress groups have now set their sights on the Delhi high command for the election results. As Congress factionalism has escalated in the winnable Kolar constituency, even the high command is confused as to whom to give tickets to. Which of the two groups should be nominated, or whether the candidate of the neutral group should be given a ticket, in which the SC- left, right, Doddatali, Chikkatali can get the ticket also depends on the High Command’s decision.