Cong, CM strategise for Nikhil's win in Mandya

The Congress has roped in Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to devise a strategy to help his son Nikhil win the Mandya Lok Sabha seat, and this could involve Congress president Rahul Gandhi no less.

The Congress is grappling to contain dissidence in its Mandya cadre with a section of party workers unwilling to support Nikhil, who is said to be facing a tough challenge from Independent candidate Sumalatha.

“We have devised a strategy to ensure Nikhil’s victory,” Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters on Tuesday. Rao held talks with Kumaraswamy on the Mandya situation earlier in the day. On dissidence, Rao asserted that no Congress leader had openly supported Sumalatha’s candidature.

Rahul is slated to hold a roadshow in Krishnarajanagara on April 13. “We chose Krishnarajanagara as it is located in the Mysuru district, but the Assembly segment falls under the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency,” Rao explained.

The JD(S) needs the full support of the Congress to help Nikhil win Mandya, while the Congress is banking on the JD(S) for a victory in the Mysore Lok Sabha seat. According to sources, Rahul himself may send out a strong message to the party’s dissidents and make them fall in line.

Rao maintained that there were no problems between his party and the JD(S) elsewhere. “In Hassan, we have solved 80% of the issues. Even in Tumkur, the problem only in the Madhugiri taluk,” Rao said.

The Congress-JD(S) coalition was on a strong ground in the Old Mysore region, he claimed. “We are confident that 80% of the votes will transfer - Congress votes to the JD(S) and vice-versa. It happened in the Shimoga bypoll last year when Madhu Bangarappa’s defeat margin was reduced to about 50,000,” he said.