Bangalore, Mar 17 : A tug-of-war is going on between KPCC and the Congress High Command with regard to party tickets to BJP and JD(S) MPs who voted in favour of the UPA during the No-Confidence Motion last year.
Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi, in order to keep her word, has decided on the candidature of M. Shivanna (Kagalawadi) for Chamarajanagar, H.T. Sangliana for Bangalore Central, Manjunath Kunnur for Dharwad and Manorama Madhwaraj for Udupi-Chikkamagalur constituencies. The State leaders, who have not objected to the candidates of Udupi and Dharwad constituencies, are strongly opposing the candidature of Shivanna and Sangliana.
Though the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) has prepared the list of 26 constituencies, it has been unable to take a final decision on Bangalore Central and Chamarajanagar constituencies.
While the High Command is of the view that Shivanna be given the ticket, the State leaders and MLAs in the constituency hold a different view altogether. These leaders are insisting on the candidature of Kollegal MLA Dhruvanarayan. Sonia Gandhi however, is not prepared to betray Shivanna, as he stood by the UPA in its hour of crisis.
Siddharamaiah, R.V. Deshpande and Mallikarjuna Kharge too have opposed the High Command’s stand. These leaders argue that Shivanna is not a charismatic leader to enjoy the support of the people. Kollegal MLA Dhruvanarayan would be a better choice, they argue.
These leaders also opined that BJP candidate A.R. Krishnamurthy would be benefited if Shivanna was fielded in Chamarajanagar.
They have urged Sonia Gandhi to personally talk to Shivanna and convince him to withdraw from the lobby promising him a suitable position if UPA comes to power. Similarly, KPCC has recommended Jaffer Sharief as the candidate for Bangalore Central constituency.
Sonia, however, has taken a tough stance in favour of Sangliana and has advised Jaffer Sharief to opt for Bangalore North.
