Bangalore, Mar 11 : This is one constituency where three candidates, who fought against one another for the same seat in the last Lok Sabha elections, are in the same party now and fighting for the ticket. Bangalore Central is said to have become a major cause of concern for the Congress high command as it chooses the candidate here.
Post-delimitation, Bangalore Central has retained most characters of Bangalore North in terms of assembly segments and caste composition.
Vyving for this constituency are four former MPs C K Jaffer Sharief, H T Sangliana, Margaret Alva and C M Ibrahim, MLA R Roshan Baig and party functionary H Abdul Wahab, who is in the mining business.
It is learnt AICC president Sonia Gandhi assured Sangliana that he would be accommodated in Bangalore Central, when he defied the BJP and voted in favour of the nuclear deal. Sharief, who suffered a political reversal in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Bangalore North, is looking for a comeback, while Alva has also staked claim to the seat.
According to sources, the party’s rank and file is a confused lot with their loyalties divided between Sharief and Baig, while Sangliana is a newcomer to the party and Margaret Alva was always seen as having made New Delhi her base.
Ibrahim had contested on a JD(S) ticket in 2004 and known for his oratory skills is yet to reclaim his base in the Congress, which he had quit years ago.
