Battlelines will be drawn today
Bengaluru: The battle lines will be drawn for next month’s elections to the Legislative Assembly with the release of final list of contestants on the last day for withdrawal of nominations, on Saturday.
While senior leaders of Congress and Janata Dal (S) are pulling out all the stops to rein in rebels ahead of the deadline on Saturday, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley sought to play down the impact of ex-CM B.S. Yeddyurappa’s exit, saying, “We stand by our ideals rather than individuals.”
Congress general secretary Oscar Fernandes, who warned that rebels who do not give in to persuasion will be expelled, told the media here on Friday that it is for the Congress to fulfill the aspirations of people as “they were looking for a major change in Karnataka”.
Cong set to douse rebel fire
With just hours left for rebel candidates to withdraw their nominations, the Congress top brass is working overtime to ensure they do not queer the pitch for official nominees and end up depriving the party of a clear majority in the assembly.
More than half a dozen AICC secretaries have been drafted to hold talks with the rebels and convince them to withdraw. AICC secretary Sanjay Nirupam, one of those involved in the exercise, told Deccan Chronicle that he was handling the task of pacifying rebels in the Belgaum region. “Over a dozen of us have been working here. In all, I think the number of rebels may not cross 10, which is less compared to the number we usually have in other states.”
According to Mr Nirupam, these rebels have been propped up by senior Congress leaders. Another AICC secretary, R.C. Khuntia said the party took up the issue with senior leaders and told them unequivocally that their supporters should withdraw their nominations.
Mr Nirupam made it clear that the party would crack the whip if more than one Congressman remains in the fray. “The rebels will face disciplinary action.”
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