Internal bickering within the Sullia unit of the Congress deepened on Wednesday, with a large number of party workers staging a protest in front of the district Congress office, demanding that the party announce H.M. Nandakumar as the party candidate from Sullia.
A section of Congress workers from Sullia and Kababa blocks are opposed to the candidature of G. Krishnappa from Sullia constituency. The workers recently held a meeting each in Kadaba and Sullia opposing his candidature.
The workers from Sullia came in two buses and two mini-buses to the district Congress office around noon. They raised slogans asking the party high command to reconsider their decision and declare Mr. Nandakumar as the party candidate. The party should hear activists and respect their feelings, and not impose the decision of party leaders on the former, they said.
Balakrishna Balleri, a former Kadaba Block Congress president, said Mr. Nandakumar, a former Madikeri City Municipal Council president, has been working with the party workers in Sullia for the last two years since his appointment as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee coordinator for the adjoining Kadaba block. “Mr. Nandakumar has a strong support of workers and he should be the party candidate,” Mr. Balleri said.
The vice-president of Kadaba Block Congress, Ramesh Kote, said that there was an anti incumbency against the present Sullia MLA S. Angara and the Congress has a good chance to win from the constituency this time.
“Mr. Nandakumar will certainly win as many traditional BJP voters will vote in his favour which will be in addition to the Congress votes,” he claimed.
Mr. Krishnappa, who has been KPCC coordinator for Sullia Block, has contact with party leaders and no support of party activists, he claimed.
Sachin Raj Shetty, a former district Congress social media in charge and member of Pervaje Gram Panchayat, said the party should not do the mistake of going by the opinion of party leaders and selecting Mr. Krishnappa. “We don’t want candidate selected by leaders. Give preference to the voice of party activists. The Congress should reconsider its decision and give B form to Mr. Nandakumar,” he said.
Mr. Nandakumar’s dedicated work for party and his social work, especially during the two waves of the pandemic, should be recognised.
The party workers said that they will go in a group to the KPCC office in Bengaluru and press for the candidature of Mr. Nandakumar. “If the party does not change the candidate, we will then decide our future course of action,” Hameed, another Congress worker said.
