Bengaluru: With Rizwan Arshad, the outgoing Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (KPYCC) chief and Congress MLC, who is now 37, not eligible to contest for the Youth Congress chief’s post as he has crossed the age of eligibility, the state unit may see the entry of new faces after the organisational poll which is underway.
The Indian Youth Congress Organisational Election Committee has announced the calendar of events for the polls after the membership drive was over. With over 18 lakh primary members, the Youth Congress has over 4.5 lakh active members in Karnataka who are voters in the organisational elections.
Mr Arshad who had served for two terms as chief, reportedly did not get a good rating from the IYC central bosses for his leadership during his second term as KPYCC president. The IYC general secretary in charge of Karnataka reportedly gave a not so positive report on Mr Arshad’s performance. As a result, Mr Arshad's team members were virtually stopped from contesting the polls.
However, Mr Arshad persuaded the AICC through a former Cabinet minister from Karnataka and managed to get the blanket ban on his colleagues lifted. His colleagues have to defend their performance before the IYC and if the national youth body is convinced about their performance, they will give the green signal to the incumbent office bearers to contest the polls.
Meanwhile, animal husbandry minister and Hassan strongman, A. Manju's son, who was holding one of the district unit posts, is sure to enter the fray for the state president post. Ms Sowmya Reddy, daughter of transport minister, R. Ramalinga Reddy is likely to contest for the Bengaluru district unit president post, sources in the party said.
Poll Schedule
April 11-16
Voters list scrutiny
April 21
Nomination
April 22
Scrutiny
April 23
Symbol Allocation
Date of election will be intimated later
Kempegowda Jayanthi a state festival
With the Karnataka Assembly polls just a year away, caste becomes a primary factor to keep voters on your side. This could be the reason why the state government on Tuesday decided to observe Kempegowda's birth anniversary as a state festival on April 17. Kempegowda built Bengaluru city in the sixteenth century and is considered to be an icon of the Vokkaligas, one of the dominant communities in the state who account for around 13 per cent of the total voters. The Congress party, after coming to power in 2013, had taken a decision to observe Tipu Jayanthi, Vemana Jayanthi and also celebrated the birth anniversaries of icons of a few other castes. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also announced that Kempegowda's birth anniversary functions would be held held in all district centres. The CM said that the decision was taken after a discussion with Nirmalananda Swamiji of the pro-Vokkaliga Adichunchanagiri math. The Congress, which has been accused of pandering to AHINDA communities like the Dalits, backward classes and minorities, seems to be making an attempt to connect with Vokkaligas now. This is significant considering the exit of Vokkaliga titan S.M. Krishna from the Congress.
