Bengaluru: With the state elections fast approaching more chinks seem to be appearing in the Congress' armour. Monday morning saw an audio clip go viral of "rebel star" turned politician, Ambareesh reportedly accusing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of overlooking his candidature for Mandya over that of a 'ninne monne bandavalu' (a lady, who recently joined the party).
Dismissing the clip as manufactured, Mr Ambareesh's family, however, claimed it was created by a private TV channel for April Fool's Day. But it brought to light the running feud between the star and others in the party and proved hugely embarrassing for the Congress which only recently saw party veteran C.K. Jaffer Sharief speak disparagingly about "Siddaramaiah's Congress," and Minister, Priyank Kharge drop a quiet bombshell, saying his dream was to see his father become CM.
Mr Sharief, who was expecting the party to give a ticket to his grandson, Rehaman Sharief from Heballa is reportedly miffed with Mr Siddaramaiah as his trusted lieutenant, Bhairati Suresh could contest from the constituency. Not mincing his words, he lashed out saying, "There is no Congress in Karnataka. It is Siddaramaiah's Congress," and questioned the rationale of promoting only Kurubas for key seats.
Priyank Kharge, created a stir with his tweet that it was his dream to see father Mallikarjun Kharge become CM. But downplaying the incidents, party insiders claim these leaders are merely venting their feelings, which is quite common in the Congress around elections.
