The Congress leadership, ahead of the April 9 bypolls to Davanagere South, chose to field Shamanur scion Samarth Shamanur (27) overlooking the claims of the local Muslim leaders, some of whom nursed the ambition to contest. The community was hoping to clinch the ticket on the grounds that it is also the single largest in the constituency.
The CM, speaking to the media in Gundlupet near Mysuru, said the choice of the candidate was decided in the presence of local Muslim leaders. Later, they opposed it, he said, while responding to queries on the anguish among the Muslim leaders over the party’s recent actions and their complaint to the AICC leadership.
The CM expressed confidence that the Congress will win in Davanagere South as a sense of nervousness grips the party.
Dy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the Pradesh Congress Committee president, denied that the party was hostile towards the Muslim community. “No one is being hostile. The party is prioritizing discipline. Everyone must follow discipline,” he told the media in Bengaluru, defending the action against the two Congress leaders.
The party, in a bid to send a stern message to detractors, ousted MLC Abdul Jabbar as minority cell chief and fired CM’s political secretary Naseer Ahmed for their alleged inaction to defuse trouble. The party has also sidelined Housing & Wakf Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan for not doing enough to buy peace with the local Muslim leaders.
The Congress has been worried over the fate of bypolls in Davanagere South as sections of Muslims either stayed away from campaigning for the Congress or backed rival candidates.
