Peeved over denial of ticket to contest the just-concluded MLC elections in the State, several aspirants of the Congress have decided to raise the issue of criteria adopted in selection of MLC candidates during the two-day Chintan Shivir of the party to be held from June 2.
A few leaders have also expressed disappointment over selection of former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh to the Rajya Sabha from the State. Senior leaders plan to submit a petition to the high command over “factionalism” in the party and selection of candidate for the Rajya Sabha.
Other aspirants
Selection of former BMTC chairman M. Nagaraju Yadav in the category of OBC and K. Abdul Jabbar in the Muslim category has not gone down well with many senior party leaders. Sources said senior leaders such as S.R. Patil, Ivan D’souza, V.R. Sudarshan, V.S. Ugrappa, M.D. Lakshminarayana, Pushpa Amarnath, and Kavitha Reddy are disappointed. Denial of ticket to the Lingayat community leaders in MLC and Rajya Sabha election has also irked some, sources said.
Mr. Lakshminarayana and Reddy have openly vented their ire against the party and plan to raise the issue at the Chintan Shivir.
Mr. Lakshminarayana, who was one of the aspirants for MLC ticket, wrote to KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar seeking allocation of time during the Chintan Shivir to discuss issues related to the selection of MLC candidates.
He has sought to know how many meetings were conducted over selection of candidates and what criteria was followed. He asked how many MLC aspirants’ names were recommended to the party high command and whether they were rejected. Factions in the Congress, one led by Siddaramaiah and another led by Mr. Shivakumar, would not augur well for the party in the coming elections, the former MLC said.
Upset over being denied MLC ticket, Ms. Reddy expressed her disappointment, saying that it was “unfair and disturbing when 50% of the population is ignored.” She has been given show-cause notice by the party.
RS ticket issue
Speaking to The Hindu, senior leader and former Legislative Council Chairman V.R. Sudarshan said many legislators were unhappy with the party’s nomination of Mr. Jairam Ramesh to the Rajya Sabha. “The State is facing several challenges on issues related to GST, language, border dispute,” he said and questioned the contributions of Mr. Ramesh to the State and the party. Mr. Ramesh will file his nomination paper on Monday.
Senior leader and former Council Chairman B.L. Shankar said “no democratic process is followed in the selection of candidate for the Rajya Sabha. Collective decision making is the need of the hour as the State is going to elections next year. Leaders are working in islands. There is a need to build bridges to link islands”.
When several leaders are quitting the party, it is appropriate to give ticket to those who have contributed to strengthen the party and raise issues related to the State in the Parliament. The legislators should discuss all these issues at the CLP meeting on Monday and at Chintan Shivir, Mr. Sudarshan said.
He regretted “lack of communication” between State and Central leaders. “What is the need to have the election committee when names are discussed between two or three leaders in the State?” he asked.
