JD(S) Muslim candidates add to misery of Congress

Bengaluru: The JDS, which has given a nod to those deprived of tickets in the Congress, has fielded Muslim candidates in fifteen constituencies, raising fear of vote division in the Congress.

On the one hand, SDPI has given tickets to mostly Muslim candidates and on the other hand, JDS has also fielded Muslim candidates, the more votes they get, the harder it will be for Congress to win. There are interpretations that the vote split in the constituencies contested by Muslim candidates from JD(S), but it may also affect the result by hindering the victory of Congress candidates.

In Mangaluru North, Narasimharaja, Virajpet, Belthangadi, Hebbal, Chickpet, Khanapur, Humnabad, Kundgol, Gulbarga North constituencies, JDS Muslim candidates are contesting against the Congress. In five constituencies out of fifteen constituencies, JDS has fielded Muslim candidates in five constituencies where Congress is contesting.

JD(S) has devised this strategy to break the magic number dream of Congress. In Humnabad, Congress’s Rajasekhara Patil is contesting, where JDS state president CM Ibrahim’s son CM Faiz Khan is the JDS candidate. Similarly, in Mangalore North, Mohiuddin Bava, who was deprived of Congress ticket, was given a JDS ticket, where Inayat of Congress is the Congress candidate.

Hazrat Ali Allasab is the JDS candidate against sitting MLA Kusuma Shivalli in Kundgol. Similarly, Naseer Hussain Ustad against Khaneez Fatima in Gulbarga North, Abdul Khader Shaheed against Tanveer Seth in Narasimharaja constituency are JDS candidates. In Hebbal of Bengaluru, Mohiuddin Altaf against Byrati Suresh, former MLA RV Devaraj against Imran Pasha in Chickpet, and Mohiuddin Altaf in Hebbal are the candidates and it is being heard that it may be a stumbling block to the victory of the Congress candidates.

In the meantime, the JD(S) has attracted and given tickets to the ticket-deprived strongmen in the Congress, along with 20 percent of the workers and leaders of the Congress party. Anil Lad in Bellary, Malakareddy in Yadagir, Raghu Achar in Chitradurga, Ghoklukar in Haliyal, Manohar Tehsildar in Hanagal, Dr Devaraj Patil in Bagalkot have entered the fray from JDS and many Congress leaders have also been attracted by JDS.

In Shimoga, Ayanur Manjunath, who went from BJP to JDS, is joined by former MLA Prasanna Kumar, who was deprived of a ticket in the Congress, which is interpreted as making the path of Congress victory difficult. On the other hand, SDPI has fielded Muslim candidates in many constituencies including Narasimharaja, Pulakeshinagar and Sarvajnanagar, where Congress MLAs are also observing.

Constituencies contested by Muslim candidates are Khanapur, Gulbarga North, Humnabad, Rona, Kundagol, Sagar, Mangalore North, Byndoor, Kapu, Belthangadi, Virajpet, Narasimharaja, Hebbal, Sarvajnanagar and

Chickpet.