The rift in the district Congress after the nomination of J.R. Lobo as party candidate form Mangalore South seems to have healed, at least on the surface, with former Mayor K. Ashraf, who had led the protests, pledging his support to Mr. Lobo on Friday.
Addressing presspersons, Mr. Ashraf said the differences existed only until the names were announced. “Before handing out tickets we all try to posture for our desired candidate. The issue has been sorted out. Now that the high command has made its decision, we will work towards the victory of the chosen candidate,” he said.
He said that four-time MLA N. Yogish Bhat had not done enough for the development of the constituency and that the people need to vote for a change.
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“We (Congress) now control Mangalore City Corporation and for the election promises to come to fruition — such as no increase in property tax or water tax and a new system of granting licenses for construction of houses — we need an MLA who supports us. Mr. Lobo is the ideal person for the job,” he said.
A section of Congress workers led by Mr. Ashraf had last week staged a protest against denial of ticket to Ivan D’Souza, the KPCC secretary.