Bengaluru, March 22 (IANS) Commenting on the internal rift, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D. K. Shivakumar on Sunday clarified that the candidates for the by-election have been selected by consensus.
Speaking to the media at his residence in Bengaluru, he said the Bagalkote Assembly ticket has been given to Umesh Meti, the second son of late H. Y. Meti, and the Davanagere South ticket has been given to Samarth Mallikarjuna, grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
He said: “The Chief Minister, Minister Zameer Ahmad, Naseer Hussain, Saleem Ahmad, N.A. Harris, Jabbar and all minority leaders, along with me, discussed the matter with the AICC Secretary and arrived at a unanimous decision to give the opportunity to the Shamanur family. We have decided to contest unitedly and win both constituencies.”
“The B-Form has been handed over to the candidate’s father, Minister for Mining, Geology and Horticulture S. S. Mallikarjuna. On Monday, the Chief Minister and I will go to Davanagere and Bagalkote to participate in the nomination filing event. The speculations in the media about ticket allocation have now been put to rest. The high command communicated the decision late at night,” he said.
“A Legislature Party meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday. The AICC Secretary will also participate in the meeting,” he added.
When asked whether the minority community was satisfied, as it had vehemently demanded a ticket for Davanagere South, he said: “There is nothing wrong in asking for a ticket. They are asking based on population — they are not wrong.”
“Minister Mallikarjuna said he filed his nomination on an auspicious date. Just as we have faith, so do they. He has said that if the party asks, he will withdraw. Samarth’s mother, Congress MP Prabha Mallikarjuna, also did not initially want to contest for the parliamentary seat — she was persuaded to. Mallikarjuna also did not want to, initially. Now he is growing into an asset of the party,” he said.
When asked whether the minority community had placed any demands, he said: “They do ask. Mallikarjuna is committed to whatever the party says. So am I. If I am told not to contest from Kanakapura, I won’t.”
When asked whether the confusion in the minority community had been resolved, he said: “Aspiring is not wrong. Personally, I wanted to give the ticket to Mallikarjuna in the Meti family for the Bagalkote seat. Another daughter, who is a Zilla Panchayat member, had also asked for a ticket. A total of four people from within the same family had asked for the ticket. When there is desire within a family itself, others will also have it. Several names had come up for Bagalkote as well.”
When asked about JD(S) fielding minority candidates, he said: “I know all these efforts are going on. In politics, they create divisions, and so do we. Do they have consensus among themselves? Because two people quarrelled, they gave the ticket to a third person. Why should I discuss that? That is their party’s decision; this is ours.”
When asked whether the Opposition’s candidates are strong, he said: “Ours is ours, theirs is theirs. I am not going to discuss other parties’ decisions. Let them field whoever they want.”
“The service and development work done by late Shivashankarappa for Davanagere is excellent. Davanagere is better than Bengaluru — I have seen it personally. He has provided drinking water, houses for the poor, and built educational institutions.
He has served for the past 40 years. The Shamanur family has stood by the Congress party from the very beginning,” he said.
When asked about the grievance that Shivashankarappa had promised to give the ticket to the Muslim community after him and that the promise is not being honoured, he said: “They may have expressed that grievance to you — not to us. That is precisely why we have made Jabbar an MLC three times.
The same Shivashankarappa made Jabbar an MLC during S. M. Krishna’s time and during Siddaramaiah’s tenure. Alternative arrangements are made from time to time. We gave the Council seat to Saleem from Dharwad instead of Mane — wasn’t that an alternative arrangement?” he asked.
–IANS
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