Bengaluru: Less than a week after AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi made a caustic remark in Kerala that only the Congress could defeat the Congress, his observation on infighting within the party has ironically come true in the Hebbal by-poll.
Several Congress leaders, who were not on good terms with former railway minister, C.K. Jaffer Sharief, worked tirelessly to ensure the defeat of his grandson, Rehaman Sharief, who lost by over 19,000 votes, a margin that even surprised the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
While speaking about internal squabbles, Mr Gandhi had told a party workers’ meeting at Thiruvananthapuram last week that only the Congress could defeat the Congress.
The uneasiness was evident the moment Jaffer Sharief managed to get the party ticket for his grandson with several Congress leaders making known their reservations, albeit secretly, which paved the way for an easy victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Besides this, the experiment to divide votes on communal lines boomeranged on the Congress.
It is reliably learnt that the camp owing allegiance to Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah worked diligently to ensure Mr Sharief's defeat and got subtle support from a large section of minority leaders especially from Bengaluru region.
Mr Sharief did take pains to ensure his grandson did not overplay the minority card either in his speeches or during the campaign.
But Janata Dal (Secular) leaders like B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s high decibel bytes on the minority issue ensured that votes were polarised to the maximum extent possible helping the BJP.
To add to Rehaman’s woes, former external affairs minister, S. M. Krishna and former KPCC president, B. Janardhan Poojary delivered telling blows during the last leg of the campaign, coming down heavily on Mr Siddaramaiah’s style of functioning, which alienated educated voters too.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader in the Congress claimed that Siddarmaiah camp followers such as Byrathi Suresh and former minister, H.M. Revanna, worked overtime to ensure Mr Sharief's defeat.
According to the source, Mr Sharief is disliked by several minority leaders due to the stature he enjoys within the community.
“This time around, Mr Jaffer Sharief used his clout to get his grandson the ticket, which did not go down well with a large section of minority leaders,” the source added.
