JOIN USThe absence of Lingayats and Vokkaligas in the Congress list of nominations to the Council has resulted in resentment in a section of the party.
Not a single Lingayat or Vokkaliga figures in the Congress list of direct nominations and also among the four candidates who are likely to be elected unopposed to the Council from the Assembly. One Lingayat did figure in the party’s choice for direct nominations - Mohan Kondajji.
The Congress had finalised the names of Kondajji, sitting MLC Abdul Jabbar, actor Jayamala, former leader of the Opposition in the Council V S Ugrappa and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee member Ivan D’Souza for direct nomination to the Upper House.
Kharge’s choice
However, intervention by Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge is understood to have resulted in Kondajji being replaced by former MP Iqbal Ahmed Saradagi, party sources said.
Defeat
Saradagi is close to Kharge and is from his home district of Gulbarga. Kharge is said to have taken up the cause of Saradagi with the Congress high command, stating that he (Saradagi) had to face an embarrassing defeat in the 2012 Council polls, following cross-voting by the party MLAs.
The disgruntled elements are planning to meet the central leadership soon. They point out that two Muslims (Jabbar and Saradagi) and two from Tumkur (Parameshwara and Ugrappa) figure in the list.