Cong should not ignore communities, asserts S R Patil

Senior Congress leader S R Patil on Thursday suggested Congress president Sonia Gandhi that the party should not ignore major communities as their support was key for the party to come to power.

Patil, who met Sonia after becoming Opposition Leader in Karnataka Legislative Council, told reporters that he had requested the national president to prevail upon the state leaders not to ignore major community leaders.

“The support of major communities including Lingayat and Vokkaligas is very important if the party wants to come to power in the state," he said.

Earlier, several party leaders had alleged that due to the policies adopted by a section of the Congress leaders, the upper class votes, including the Lingayat and the Vokkaliggas, were moving away from the party.

Neglecting major community leaders was the reason for the party's setback in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections, he said.