Rumours of Kharge contesting from Chamarajanagar rife

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: With just a few months left for parliamentary polls, rumours of All India Congress Committee (AICC) President Mallikarjuna Kharge who was also proposed as the prime ministerial face of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), contesting from Chamarajanagar reserved parliamentary constituency, are spreading in Congress, Dalit and progressive outfit circles in Mysuru- Chamarajanagar districts.

Though state social welfare minister and Mysuru district in-charge minister Dr H C Mahadevappa has ruled out the possibility of Kharge contesting from Chamarajanagar, the rumours are still doing the rounds.

Kharge has a large number of fans and followers in Chamarajanagar parliamentary constituency. Moreover, the scheduled caste (right) community voters of Kharge are concentrated in large numbers in the constituency.

Kharge who is known as “Solillada Saradara” (a leader without defeat) was defeated by BJP's Umesh Jadhav in Kalaburagi by 95,452 votes in the previous polls.

This was the first loss in Kharge's political life. Kharge’s supporters say that Chamarajangar is a safe constituency for him when his name is doing the rounds for Congress prime ministerial candidate.

Moreover, the huge concentration of Dalit, backward class and minority community votes will help in his victory.

A delegation of progressive organization members and Chamarajanagar district Congress leaders have planned to meet Kharge at New Delhi to appeal to him to contest from their constituency.

Though Kharge's name from Chamarajanagar was not discussed at the recently held probable candidates study meeting conducted by state health minister Dinesh Gundurao at Nanjangud town, Kharges supporters will not rule out their leader contesting from Chamarajanagar.

The Gundurao committee has recommended eight Congress candidates from Chamarajanagar including Sunil Bose, son of Mysuru District In-charge minister Dr H C Mahadevappa, former MLA G N Nanjundaswamy and former MP M Shivanna to the party high command.

In the assembly elections, Congress had won seven out of eight assembly segments in Chamarajanag ar seat barring Hanur represented by JD(S) candidate Manjunath.

Congress candidates were elected from T Narasipura(Dr Mahadevappa), Varuna(CM Siddaramaiah), Gundlupet(Ganeshprasad), Chamarajangar(C Puttarangashetty), Kollegal( AR Krishnamurthy), HD Kote(Anil Chikkamadu) and Nanjangud ( Darshan Dhuruvanarayan).