Bengaluru, March 20 (IANS) The rift within the ruling Congress deepened on Friday after party ticket aspirant Samarth Shamanur filed his nomination for the Davanagere South Assembly constituency, even as the party is yet to officially announce its candidate.
Amid the ongoing uncertainty, the move by the influential Shamanur family has taken party leaders by surprise. Samarth is the grandson of late Shamanur Shivashankarappa, a veteran Congress leader who represented the seat.
It may be noted that late Shamanur Shivashankarappa was the President of the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha. His son, S.S. Mallikarjun, is the Minister for Mines, Geology and Horticulture, while his daughter-in-law, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Congress MP from the Davanagere Lok Sabha constituency.
Samarth submitted his nomination papers along with his mother, MP Prabha Mallikarjun.
Reacting to the development in Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar said that he does not have the details yet and would look into the matter.
Speaking to reporters, Samarth said he arrived in his grandfather’s car to file the nomination and signed the papers in his grandfather’s room. “We will work to carry forward his legacy. People who visited our house would first go to my grandfather’s room, but now it feels empty,” he said.
He added that he has prior experience in election work and maintains strong connections with party workers. “I am hopeful of getting the ticket this time. Just as the people of the constituency elected and blessed my grandfather, I believe they will extend their support to me as well,” he said.
Prabha Mallikarjun said that despite his young age, Samarth is energetic and has already appealed to the party high command for a ticket. She noted that he has gained considerable experience by participating in elections alongside his grandfather.
She further said that Minister S.S. Mallikarjun has travelled to attend a meeting with AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala. “The decision on the party candidate is likely to be announced either later today or tomorrow,” she said.
Emphasising that filing a nomination is an individual’s right, she added that several candidates, including those from minority communities, have also filed nominations. “Ultimately, the party’s official candidate will be final,” she said.
Meanwhile, the BJP has announced its candidates for the by-elections to the Bagalkote and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies on the occasion of Ugadi, setting the stage for keen political contests ahead of polling on April 9.
In Davanagere South, the BJP has fielded Srinivas T. Dasakariyappa as its candidate, giving representation to the Valmiki (ST) community. The move is seen as a strategic attempt to consolidate Scheduled Tribe votes, which are considered crucial in the constituency.
The seat, earlier held by senior Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, fell vacant following his demise, and the Congress is yet to finalise its candidate amid internal differences
The Congress is facing the challenge of managing multiple aspirants, as several leaders have expressed their willingness to contest.
Davanagere South, long regarded as a Congress stronghold, is expected to witness a tough contest between the two major parties. The BJP’s decision to field Srinivas Dasakariyappa is also being viewed as a balancing act aimed at maintaining social and caste equations in the region.
In Davanagere, Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan has demanded that the ticket be given to a candidate from the Muslim community, while Minister for Mines, Geology and Horticulture S.S. Mallikarjun has opposed the move. The two ministers also had a heated exchange of words over the issue.
Leaders from the Muslim community have further warned that they have a significant voter base of around 85,000, and if the ticket is not allotted to a candidate from the community, they will teach the Congress a lesson.
–IANS
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