In what was construed as an obvious display of displeasure with the decision to field C.K. Abdul Rahman Sharief, grandson of former Railway Minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief, as the candidate for the byelection to the Hebbal Assembly constituency, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah refused to meet Mr. Rahman and kept him waiting for more than two hours, according to party sources.
Sources said that a loyalist of the Chief Minister told Mr. Rahman, who was waiting at Mr. Siddaramaiah’s official residence, to summon his grandfather to meet the latter.
Mr. Siddaramaiah later met the party candidate along with Mr. Jaffer Sharief, who appealed to the Chief Minister to make efforts to ensure Mr. Rahman’s victory.
With such differences, Congress leaders are worried that infighting and refusal of ticket to the Chief Minister’s confidant Byrathi Suresh, Independent MLC, could now cost the party dearly, not just in Hebbal but also in the other two constituencies going for the bypolls.
Adding fuel to the fire was a public spat between State youth Congress president Rizwan Arshad, one of the aspirants for the Hebbal seat, and Mr. Jaffer Sharief. Mr. Arshad, who was apparently opposing ticket to Mr. Rahman, alleged that Mr. Jaffer Sharief was responsible for his defeat in 2014 Parliament elections in Bengaluru Central constituency.
Reacting to Mr. Arshad’s allegations, Mr. Jaffer Sharief shot back and said “Mr. Arshad is a small baby and he has many things to learn in life.” Mr. Arshad told media that “nobody is born as great leaders. Mr. Jaffer Sharief was also a small baby once.”
While party insiders have often pointed out that the State Congress was divided into two camps, one led by Mr. Siddaramaiah and the other led by old Congress leader M. Mallikarjun Kharge, they said the tussle over the Hebbal seat had brought differences to a “flash point”.
The old Congressmen still believe that Mr. Siddaramaiah and his loyalists are outsiders to the party, though they joined the Congress nearly a decade ago. But till now, Mr. Siddaramaiah has been seen as the last point of call when it comes to determining candidates for elections. Some see the denial of ticket to his candidate as a reassertion by the party high command.
Many within the party feel that serious introspection needs to be done and a proper election strategy should be chalked out involving all factions, before things get out of control. Be it the Chief Minister or old Congressmen, all of them along with supporters have to put their heads together and sort out things, before irreparable damage is done to the cause of the party.
Workers clash
Differences between two camps in the party came to the fore again when Mr. Rahman filed his nomination papers at the BBMP office in Munireddypalya, Bengaluru. Congress workers belonging to two different groups abused and physically attacked each other. The police brought the situation under control.
