Karnataka Congress cracks whip over ‘conspiracy’ against party candidate in Davanagere South

Though Jabbar, who hails from Davanagere, had resigned on April 3, the Congress appears to have kept it under wraps, fearing ramifications at Davanagere South constituency – where minority voters constitute more than a third of the electorate.

That minority leaders from the Congress were divided over the choice of candidate for Davanagere South was clear since March. Many leaders under Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan had unsuccessfully lobbied to ensure a Muslim candidate from the segment. The party’s decision to field Samarth Mallikarjun, a political novice and grandson of former MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa, had even triggered protests from a section of Congress Muslim voters.

Jabbar, who was an aspirant from the constituency, was among those miffed by the decision. Along with this, Zameer barely campaigned in the segment. This had led to speculations that many leaders still harboured discontent over sidelining Muslim leaders in one of the very few constituencies where Muslims could get elected.

On Friday, the differences spilled out in the open as Congress legislators such as Saleem Ahmed and Rizwan Arshad held a news conference, accusing some minority leaders of the party of conspiring to sabotage Congress’s prospects in Davanagere South. Saleem Ahmed had accused “some senior Congress leaders” of working against the party. “Even though Samarth’s candidature was agreed by everyone, there was some confusion,” he said.

This did not sit well with Jabbar, who hit out against these leaders. The copy of his resignation letter was also released to the media. “Minority voters and minority office bearers are the backbone of our great Congress party, and (the community) certainly deserves better,” he said in the letter.

Later, speaking to media persons, he took a dig at other minority leaders. “Some people are using minority leaders to speak against us using the Congress office,” he told reporters Saturday. Jabbar said that he resigned, saddened by the allegations made by fellow community leaders.

More leaders under scanner?

Jabbar’s resignation, which, according to some reports, was based on directions by the Congress high command, has also resulted in speculations about the fate of other leaders, such as Khan and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s political secretary Naseer Ahmed. Party sources said that the two leaders, along with Jabbar, are under the scanner.

“There are complaints that the three were involved in anti-party activity, and there are allegations of them funding Social Democratic Party of India candidate. The Congress high command has talked to state leadership over the issue, and disciplinary action is likely,” Congress sources said. After Jabbar, Naseer Ahmed could be asked to put in his papers, while the fate of Minister Khan remained unclear, sources added.

The Congress had faced rebellion in Davanagere South soon after Mallikarjun was picked as the candidate. Local Congress leader Sadiq Pahilwan had filed his nomination papers as a rebel candidate and was cajoled by party leaders to withdraw his candidature.