Mr Hegde had contested as a Congress rebel in the recent Council polls from the Local Authorities constituency.
Udupi: With less than 10 days for the ZP-TP elections in the district, Congress leaders are worried about the resignation of party workers identified with former MP, Jayaprakash Hegde.
Mr Hegde had contested as a Congress rebel in the recent Council polls from the Local Authorities constituency. Though he was defeated, his supporters continue to ‘trouble’ the Congress. Many grassroot level workers, office bearers of ward committees and block committees and even panchayat presidents have resigned from the party in the past few days. Some Taluk Panchayat candidates had even decided to withdraw their nominations but had stopped after the intervention by party leaders. So Congress leaders here have to deal with the ‘Hegde factor,’ apart from fighting the BJP. “Hegde turning a rebel may not affect the party in the entire district. But his influence cannot be ruled out in Brahmavar and Kundapur. We might be hit in some of Hegde’s strongholds. His influence extends to one or two ZP wards and 5-6 TP wards,” a senior Congress leader admitted. “Four TP candidates had decided not to contest after the party denied tickets to those identified with Hegde. Leaders had to intervene and stop these candidates from withdrawing their nominations,” he added.
However supporters of Hegde feel the mass exodus from Congress will surely affect the party. “Party workers are the real pillars of the Congress party, not leaders. When a large number of workers are unhappy with the party for ousting Hegde and are quitting the Congress, it will definitely hit the party,” a former office bearer identified with Hegde said. “At present, supporters of Hegde have not decided on supporting any party. They have decided to vote for any candidate whom he supports,” he added.
Congress does a BJP in Udupi
The saffron party is usually blamed for not fielding Muslim candidates in ZP polls. But this time, the Congress seem to have followed in the BJP’s footsteps by not fielding even one Muslim candidate. “Muslims are the traditional supporters of Congress. Community voters may be annoyed if no Muslim is fielded in ZP polls by Congress. SDPI has started making use of this and is likely to affect Congress prospects in three wards,” a Muslim leader said
