Bittersweet pill for Cong as Hariprasad, Ahmed get tickets

Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad and incumbent Naseer Ahmed filed their nominations Thursday for the June 29 Legislative Council elections.

For Hariprasad, whose term as a Rajya Sabha member ends on June 25 and will be replaced by veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, the MLC ticket marks return to state politics after having spent years with the AICC as a general secretary. Ahmed had been seeking re-election for another term.

Their selection by the high command is being seen as a bittersweet result for Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah. While Ahmed was backed by Siddaramaiah, Hariprasad is said to have found support from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar. Both Hariprasad and Siddaramaiah are not known to be friends.

Hailing from the Billava (OBC) community, Hariprasad might go on to become the floor leader in the Upper House to counter Siddaramaiah, who is also from the OBC Kuruba community.

Known to be a Gandhi family loyalist, Hariprasad unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from the Bangalore South seat, where he was fielded in response to speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might contest from there. He was also pitched for the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman’s post, but lost to NDA’s Harivansh Narayan Singh.

Not everyone in the Congress is happy with Hariprasad and Ahmed getting the tickets. When asked about the expectations party workers had in getting the ticket, Shivakumar justified saying:“Both Hariprasad and Ahmed are party workers first, leaders next. This is the Upper House that needs experienced leaders. Their nominations will strengthen the Congress.”

According to sources, former union minister KH Muniyappa is especially irked with Ahmed’s re-election bid. Apparently, Muniyappa had lodged a complaint with the party high command that Ahmed worked against him during the Lok Sabha polls last year, leading to his defeat in Kolar.