Hebbal confusion ends, Siddu swings it for friend Byrathi

Bengaluru: The ruling Congress party seems to have finally ended the confusion over the prized Hebbal Assembly seat with wealthy party MLC Byrathi Suresh, the choice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and many other senior leaders, getting the nod from the Congress high command. The last day for filing nominations is Wednesday.

Mr Siddaramaiah had backed his millionaire friend, Byrathi Suresh, though a section of Congressmen had preferred loyalists like H.M. Revanna or Naseer Ahmed  rather than an outsider for Hebbal. Veteran Congress leader Jaffer Sharief had tried his best to push the prospects of his grandson, Abdul Rehman Sharief.

The Chief Minister’s preference is crucial as the high command usually goes by his choice in states where the party is in power while it favours the Pradesh Congress Committee president’s nominee wherever it is not in government.  

The party has reportedly finalised Rajashekar Naik for Devadurga and Rahim Khan for Bidar.

AICC president Sonia Gandhi is yet to sign the final order, so the official communication has not been issued,  party sources in New Delhi said.

Dr G Parameshwar warns Rizwan, Sharief
Taking serious note of the tussle between Youth Congress president Rizwan Arshad and former railway minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief over the Hebbal seat, KPCC president, Dr  G. Parameshwar cautioned both of them not to air their opinions in the media. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I am pained to read such reports. It is not a good tendency to air views publicly. The decision on Hebbal will be made by central leaders, not us. Whatever may be the decision, it will have to be honoured.”

BJP to field Narayanaswamy?
The BJP which had won the Hebbal seat in the 2013 Assembly polls, is likely to field sitting MLC, Y.A. Narayanaswamy in the bypolls necessitated by the death of its MLA, Jagadish Kumar. A formal announcement is expected anytime, party sources said.

The party is likely to field Shivanagouda Naik, a relative of Congress MLA late Venkatesh Naik, from Devadurga constituency. For Bidar the party may select either Suryakanth Nagmarpalli, son of late MLA Gurupadappa Nagmarpalli, or Prakash Khandre. Hebbal has a high population of Vokkaligas who might back a party candidate from their community, sources in the BJP said while explaining the rationale behind choosing Narayanaswamy. The party zeroed in on Mr Narayanaswamy after local strongman Katta Subramanya Naidu refused to contest. It was Mr Naidu who won this seat in 2008 while his loyalist, Jagadish Kumar bagged it in 2013. Besides the caste factor, Mr Narayanaswamy has reportedly developed a big team of workers in the constituency over the years.

In Devadurga, represented by late Venkatesh Naik who died in a rail accident, his relatives dominate. So, the BJP has decided to field Mr Shivanagouda Naik who was a minister in Yeddyurappa cabinet.

The tussle is in Bidar between Suryakanth Nagmarpalli and Prakash Khandre. Mr Nagmarpalli is reportedly trying for Congress ticket while retaining the option of securing BJP ticket if Congress refuses him ticket. BJP sources said “After we came to know that he is trying for  Congress ticket, we are considering fielding Mr Khandre. We will take a decision by Wednesday afternoon,” sources said.