Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday assured the minority community that the Congress party would address their concerns and continue its long-standing tradition of ensuring adequate representation, even as the party fielded a family candidate for the Davangere South Assembly by-election.
Shivakumar, along with Block Congress President Ayub and the party’s nominee Samarth Shamanur (grandson of late veteran leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa and son of Horticulture Minister S.S. Mallikarjun), filed the nomination papers at the district election office.
The decision to field the young leader was taken after detailed deliberations with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the party high command and all Congress MLAs, following suggestions from workers and leaders across communities.
Addressing the strong demand from Muslim MLAs and leaders for a minority candidate, given the significant Muslim population in the constituency, Shivakumar directly responded to the reported discontent.
“We will pacify the discontent of the minorities,” he said.
“This has been the basic principle of the Congress party from the beginning. Earlier, when similar demands were raised, we appointed our minority leader, Abdul Jabbar, as MLC on three occasions. In the future too, we will continue to provide opportunities in Rajya Sabha, the Legislative Council, chairmanships and other key positions to ensure justice for the community.”
The Deputy Chief Minister also expressed delight over a large number of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers joining the Congress the previous night, with more expected to follow due to internal confusion in the BJP camp.
“I warmly welcome all of them. Our party is open to everyone who believes in our ideology and leadership. No one should feel any anxiety,” he said, instructing local, district and block-level Congress presidents, as well as District Minister Mallikarjun, to integrate the new members smoothly.
The by-election to the Davangere South seat was necessitated by the death of five-time MLA and senior Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
The Congress has positioned Samarth Shamanur as its candidate to carry forward the family’s legacy of public service in the region.
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