Although the Congress wave in the State has worked in favour of most candidates fielded by the party from the minority community, four important minority candidates could not cash in on the anti-incumbency factor.
The former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim and C.K. Abdul Rehman Sharief, grandson of the former Union Minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief, and Naseer Ahmed, president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) Minority Wing, have lost in Bhadravati, Hebbal and Kolar respectively. Mr. Jaffer Sharief’s son-in-law Syed Yasin, who contested from Raichur, also lost to JD(S) candidate Shivraj Patil S.
Congress sources said this had happened because the party leaders had not selected the candidates on the basis of their winnability factor in these constituencies. “It is unfortunate that Mr. Ibrahim, who was considered to be a star campaigner and was made the chief of the campaign strategy committee, has come to the third position in Bhadravati. This shows that the people have rejected him because they want the Congress leaders to encourage the younger generation,” a Youth Congress member said.
Another senior Congress member pointed out that the leaders had made a mistake in buckling to Mr. Jaffer Sharief’s pressure to give the ticket to his relatives. “Had the party fielded H.M. Revanna in Hebbal, the Congress would definitely have had another number to its credit,” a party member said.
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