Council leader: Congress hits ‘senior vs young’ debate

The Congress has found itself in a quandary on choosing the leader of the party in the Legislative Council.

The Congress, which sat in the ruling side, has now moved to the Opposition and has to pick someone as Leader of the Opposition and Chief Whip.

The likes of C M Ibrahim, S R Patil, KC Kondaiah, Ivan D’Souza, C Raghu Achar among others are said to have thrown their hats for the post of Leader of the Opposition. While the seniors say they should get the responsibility owing to their experience, the younger lot argues that they can counter the ruling BJP better if they get to lead.

Previously, when it was in power, Jayamala, being a minister, was made the Congress’ floor leader amid opposition from within the party.

While Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah, who hails from the Mysuru district, is the front-runner to become the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, the party is discussing naming former minister S R Patil, who hails from north Karnataka, to become the leader in the Council.

It may be noted that Patil was tipped to be the Council chairperson, but Pratapchandra Shetty was chosen in the last minute.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was scheduled to meet party leaders today to finalise the candidates for the Assembly and Council. The meeting did not happen as Azad had to rush to take part in the Rajya Sabha proceedings. He is expected to come to Bengaluru again later this week.