Ahmed, member of the legislative council, is the latest to face action after Abdul Jabbar’s ouster as the party’s state minority cell chief. Ahmed held a Cabinet-rank position, and Siddaramaiah relieved him on Tuesday after the veteran Congress leader did not resign on his own as per the party’s wishes.
Ahmed failed to play his part to persuade rebel candidates to withdraw from the contest, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar told the media.
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The role of three Muslim Congress leaders, including that of Jabbar and Ahmed had been under the AICC scanner. Housing & Wakf minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan has met chief minister and is said to have explained his action to escape a harsh punishment. Sources say, the party may still hand him a lighter punishment, an influential Muslim leader, by taking away one of the two portfolios he oversees.
A sense of unease has gripped the ruling Congress as it suspects large-scale sabotage by its own leaders in Davanagere South. Any electoral setback here will be a severe loss of face for the Congress. AICC general secretary Abhishek Datta has submitted a detailed report to the party leadership naming leaders who worked against the party’s interests.
Muslims, who are dominant in the constituency, have been upset that the party chose to field a scion of Shamanur family for the seat, which faced a bypoll due to the death of sitting MLA Shamnur Shivashankarappa. Sections of local Muslims leaders have accused the Congress of reneging on a commitment the late leader had made that the seat would go to a Muslim leader after his lifetime.Abdul Jabbar had been an aspirant for this seat, but the party overlooked his claim in Samarth Shamanur. While his father SS Mallikarjun is an MLA from Davanagere North and a minister as well, mother Prabha Mallikarjun is the Lok Sabha member from Davanagere. Sections of Muslims refused to work for the official candidate in a display of their anger.
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As the number of Muslim candidates swelled, Siddaramaiah asked minister Khan, Nazir Ahmed, MLA Rizwan Arshad and MLC Salim Ahmed to defuse the situation, but the party noticed only the latter two rose to the occasion, according to sources. The AICC leadership, based on a report, believes some of its own leaders were behind the crowding of the fray with Muslim faces including one from the SDPI.
