The knives are out in faction-ridden Congress as red-faced leaders blamed each other for the defeat of party nominee, Iqbal Ahmed Saradagi, in Monday’s polls to the Legislative Council. The Independent, Bhairati Suresh, six from the ruling BJP, three Congress candidates and one Janata Dal (S) candidate were elected to the upper House.
Mr Saradagi, who secured only 15 votes against the required 19, has demanded a probe. A supporter of Union labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr Saradagi was picked ahead of former Union minister C.M. Ibrahim and others on the ground he belonged to the minority community from north Karnataka. While KPCC president Dr G. Parameshwar merely said the leaders would “introspect” on the upset defeat, leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah, was not available for comment amid speculation that blame — deserved or not —would be laid at his door.
Sources say poor planning by state unit leaders led to Mr Saradagi’s defeat. Though the party has 71 legislators in the Assembly, allotment of second preference votes was bungled. Three Lingayat legislators asked to vote for Mr Saradagi defied the party diktat. The position was no different in the ruling BJP with a dozen of the 122 legislators including minister and independent Varthur Prakash voting for Mr Bhairati Suresh, an independent, who polled 23 votes over and above the required 19.