The recently concluded Youth Congress elections in Karnataka may have done more damage to the party than strengthening its organisation, as the party remains out of power since the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Mohammed Nalapad Haris, son of three-time Shanti Nagar MLA NA Haris, won the elections beating his closest rival by more than 7,000 votes on Thursday. However, in a turn of events, Nalappad was declared unfit and disqualified for his role as the prime accused in the 2018 Farzi Cafe bar brawl case.
As a result, runner-up Raksha Ramaiah, son of senior Congress leader MR Seetharam, was declared as the Youth Congress President on Thursday after a month of voting. In a video that has been circulated among youth party workers, Nalapad can be heard asking his supporters not to speak against the party and pledged his loyalty to the party, state president DK Shivakumar and former national president Rahul Gandhi.
While shadow fighting between top leaders, including ministers of the party, is not unknown in such Youth Congress elections, a section of party workers feels that disqualifying Nalapad has also hurt the party’s image among the youth.
The source added, “Nalapad’s victory was sabotaged in a petty way at the insistence of a newly-elected MLA, who did not want the rise of another young community leader within the party. Raksha was also supported by a former minister, who managed to pull strings with Rahul Gandhi’s office. Even Siddaramaiah (former Karnataka Chief Minister) supporting Raksha Ramaiah’s cause is not unknown.”
However, Nivedith Alva, party spokesperson and Convenor, Disciplinary Action Committee of KPCC told TNM, “The Youth Congress election is a system designed and built in a constantly evolving way to bring about reform to the youth congress from the grass root level. There are countless success stories from across the country that have come from this very system. The rules are clear and the sign off by FAME (organisation holding the elections) is always the last step in the process. The system is stringent and the same for all.”
According to political observers, Siddaramaiah’s support to Raksha is to help retain him some power within the youth system of the party, with DK Shivakumar being the current state president. Some have even opined that this was a shadow power check between Siddaramiah and Shivakumar.
The source claimed that irrespective of the internal dynamics, DKS thinks Nalapad is a good leader with better organisational and oratory skills. “Knowing that he will go to elections in two years, DKS saw a strong youth leader in Nalapad but after the instructions from Rahul Gandhi’s office, he did not interfere further. While Nalapad has been on the ground for some time, the recent farmers’ protest was the first time that Raksha has hit the ground,” the source added.
Incidentally, being the third runner-up in the election, HS Manjunath, a former student leader, has been selected as the Youth Congress Vice-President. According to sources, he was backed by former Deputy CM and state party president G Parameshwara.