MLC elections: Outsiders aspiring for Congress ticket earn North Karnataka leaders’ wrath

Dharwad: Congress workers in north Karnataka, particularly from the once undivided Dharwad district, are upset with the party high command as they feel leaders have been imposing outsiders on them.
The southern part of the earlier undivided Dharwad district, which was earlier the Dharwad South Lok Sabha constituency (now called the Haveri Lok Sabha constituency), has been a favourite for the Congress as several leaders from outside, particularly from the Old Mysore region, who have lost elections in their areas were fielded in a bid to rehabilitate them.
The rehabilitation tale has a long history.
It started with the fielding of former chief minister S Nijalingappa, who was elected unopposed from the Shiggaon assembly constituency in 1967.
Nijalingappa, who hailed from Chitradurga district, had lost the 1962 assembly election to GT Rangappa of the Praja Socialist Party by a margin of 5,709 votes.
In the same election, Fakkirappa Taware of the Congress had won from Shiggaon against FT Patil of the PSP by a margin of 14,232 votes. So, Shiggaon was now considered a safe seat for the Congress.
In 1967, the party decided to field Nijalingappa from there and as the opposition parties did not field a candidate, Nijalingappa entered the assembly uncontested.
In the 1984 national general elections, the Congress fielded Azeez Sait of Mysuru from the Dharwad South constituency. The Janata Party’s candidate was Abdul Nazeer Sab.
Sait won by a margin of 57,607 votes. This seat had been deemed safe for the Congress as FH Mohsin, BM Mujahid and IG Sanadi had won there earlier.
But in recent times, the Congress has seen upsets in Dharwad South.
Saleem Ahmed from Bengaluru who was the MLC from 1996-2002 and 2002-2008 was fielded by the Congress in Dharwad South (now Haveri) parliamentary constituency in the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Saleem lost both the elections to the BJP’s Shivakumar Udasi.
Santosh Lad, who hails from Sandur, was another outsider to be accommodated by the Congress in the Dharwad district as he was given a ticket to contest from the Kalghatagi assembly constituency in 2008. His earlier constituency Sandur had become reserved for STs. After winning in 2008 and 2013, he lost in 2018.
In the 2018 assembly polls, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, fearing defeat in Chamundeshwari, also contested from Badami in Bagalkot district. While he lost Chamundeshwari by 36,000 votes, he scraped through in Badami by a slender 1,696-vote margin against B Sriramulu of the BJP.
Now that Saleem Ahmed is lobbying for a Congress ticket to contest elections to Legislative Council from the Local Authorities’ Constituency in undivided Dharwad district (comprising Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag districts), there is palpable resentment among local leaders.
Sources said the party was inclined to field a Muslim candidate and there were several aspirants from the community. “Saleem has lost twice in the Lok Sabha election and considering him again for a ticket at the cost of several loyal party workers is not acceptable. The Upper House should have senior leaders who are experts in different fields and are capable of reviewing the decisions taken by the Lower House. It should not become a rehabilitation centre for those who cannot win assembly elections. Have you ever heard of a party a leader from north Karnataka who has lost an election being fielded in a safe constituency in South Karnataka? Why should we always sacrifice?” asked an aspirant.
He said that the high command should respect the sentiments of the local loyal party workers and field a senior person for the elections from the Local Authorities’ Constituency to the Council.