Disgruntled Karnataka MLC Ibrahim quits Congress after its rout in Assembly polls

In his letter addressed to Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday, Ibrahim said that in the past 12 years, he had written many letters with requests to address several grievances of the party. He had been assured that necessary remedial measures will be taken but he hadn’t seen any changes, he said.

“If elections would have been held to select the opposition leader or if an opinion had been taken from all our party MLCs, then I would have been definitely elected since 18 members were supporting me. But the party selected BK Hari Prasad, the most junior member as the opposition leader in the legislative council. Whenever I have raised some basic questions regarding the functioning and development of the party, I have not received proper response. Being a senior leader in the party, I could not speak to you directly and place the facts before you, but has to be routed through the in-charge general secretaries and it is well known to you how they respond which I do not want to elaborate. Anyhow, I tender my resignation from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect,” the letter stated.

Sources said Ibrahim’s latest move was not unexpected as he was unhappy with the way in which Muslim community leaders, including himself, were treated, especially after D K Shivakumar was appointed as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.

“If the party president (Shivakumar) tells us to remain silent over the hijab issue, how can I stay there? We did not want the burqa or hijab, they could have at least pressed to allow women to wear headscarves. Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter Kittur Rani Chennamma used to wear a headscarf,” the disgruntled leader said.

“Muslims comprise about 21% of the voters and they need us to get those votes, but those from the community were never given any prominent portfolio,” he added.

Ibrahim said he has held talks with former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and other leaders and will start travelling across the state from March 20. “You saw what happened in the four states where the BJP has won. Only the JD(S) can keep the BJP from power at present,” he asserted.

He said the Aam Aadmi Party too approached him recently but he has chosen to stay with the JD(S). “It is better to walk on the road I have travelled,” he said. Ibrahim also claimed that several elected representatives would switch allegiances between parties ahead of the 2023 polls.

With his exit from the state Legislative Council, the BJP will now have the majority to pass the anti-conversion law which has been greenlighted by the Legislative Assembly. Speaking about it, he said, “I will leave it to the Congress party to decide on the matter.”

Ibrahim entered electoral politics by contesting on a Janata Party ticket in 1978 and became a minister during the Gundu Rao-led government. He later shifted to the JD(S) and was a minister and close aide of Deve Gowda. After Siddaramaiah’s fallout with the former prime minister, Ibrahim too left the party and joined the Congress in 2008.

He is known for his speeches and influence over the minority community.