Ibrahim is Cong poll strategy panel chief

The Congress on Saturday appointed former union minister C M Ibrahim the chairman of the newly-formed election strategy committee.

This is, perhaps, the first time that such a committee has been constituted by the party in any poll-bound state. However, no member has been appointed for the committee.

Ibrahim, who joined the Congress in 2008 after quitting the JD(S) along with Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah, was reportedly sulking for some time, after he failed to get party tickets for either the Rajya Sabha or Legislative Council polls. Amidst rumours that the prominent Muslim leader may rejoin the JD(S), the Congress high command made him the chairman of the committee. It is also learnt that he has sought the party ticket from Bhadravathi Assembly constituency. But, the party is yet to take a call on this.

Seeking to get its act together, the party has announced a 56-member campaign committee and a 44-member election manifesto committee, comprising senior State leaders including former chief ministers, PCC presidents and union ministers.

Senior leader Veeranna Mathikatti and K R Ramesh Kumar have already been appointed chairpersons of the campaign and election manifesto committees. D K Shivakumar is the co-chairman of the campaign committee. The panels have been made a jumbo affair in an apparent attempt to include leaders from all factions.

Former union minister S M Krishna, union ministers M Veerappa Moily, Mallikarjuna Kharge, K Rehman Khan and K H Muniyappa and AICC general secretaries Oscar Fernandes, B K Hariprasad, I G Sanadi and Vinay Kumar Sorake are the members of the campaign committee. 

While former Railway minister C K Jaffer Sharief is on both the committees, the campaign committee also includes former PCC chiefs Janardhana Poojary, Allum Veerabhadrappa, Dharam Signh, Shamanur Shivashankarappa and R V Deshpande.
Other leaders M V Rajashekharan, B L Shankar, H T Sangliana, B K Chandrashekhar, V R Sudarshan, Kagodu Thimmappa and D Made Gowda are also in the manifesto committee.