The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Almost all party rebels withdraw

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 27, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Almost all party rebels withdraw

S. Rajendran and B.S. Satish Kumar

Congress, BJP leaders heave a sigh of relief

Nearly 70 Congress rebels had filed nominations
Saturday was the last for withdrawal of candidature

Bangalore: The two major national parties — the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party — on Saturday heaved a sigh of relief after most of the rebel candidates withdrew from the contest for the first phase of the Assembly elections to be held on May 10.

Sources in the two parties told The Hindu that top party leaders and the official candidates worked in tandem to end the rebellion. While the BJP claimed that almost all rebel candidates had withdrawn from the fray, there were still a few in the fray in the case of the Congress.

Incidentally, there is hardly any rebel candidate in the fray in the case of the Janata Dal (Secular), the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal (United).

An analysis of the candidates left in the fray for the 89 constituencies going to polls in the first phase following the withdrawal of nominations (Saturday was the last date for withdrawal) indicates that the Congress was the worst hit with nearly 70 Congressmen filing their nomination. Most of them have since withdrawn.

In some of the constituencies, such as Padmanabhanagar, Jayanagar and Mahadevapura in Bangalore, more than two party rebels had filed their nomination papers. It was another way of indicating to the leadership that the B form, which gives them the official party candidate status, did not mean much to them.

At least two former MLAs, Venkataramanappa in Pavagada and Muniswamy in Shantinagar, have not withdrawn their nominations much to the discomfort of the official candidates Gayathri Devi and N.A. Haris respectively. The former Minister K. Srinivasa Gowda also faces a tough rebel in Varthur Prakash in the Kolar Assembly segment.

Those who have withdrawn their candidature include the former MLAs Muddahanume Gowda (close associate of S.M. Krishna) from Tumkur Rural constituency and L.R. Shivarame Gowda from Nagamangala, while the former JD(S) legislator K.N. Rajanna, who crossed over to the Congress and was nominated from Madhugiri also faces a rebel in V. Nagaraj. Samiulla, who was initially fielded as the party candidate from Jayanagar, has also withdrawn his candidature.

There are no JD(S) rebels in the fray. State JD(S) president N. Merajuddin Patel said the party had fielded candidates in all 89 constituencies.

Nothing serious

Though the BJP is faced with protests there is no serious rebellion. But for the banner of revolt raised by the former MLA Shakuntala Shetty, who is contesting as an independent from Puttur, the party is free from the problem of rebels in most of the constituencies. Puttur figures in the second phase of the polls.

Several disappointed ticket aspirants who had filed nominations as independent candidates withdrew from the contest on Saturday. However, Devaraj is one rebel candidate who remains in the fray as an independent candidate from Kadur.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka