A by-election triggered by the death of a senior Congress leader has turned politically fraught in Davangere South, where the party’s choice of Samarth Shamanur has caused opposition from sections of the minority community and led to an open rebellion within its ranks.
The Congress leadership’s decision to field Samarth Shamanur, the grandson of late Shamanur Shivashankarappa, has been met with resistance from leaders who had expected the ticket to go to a Muslim candidate in the constituency. That discontent crystallised on Monday when Sadiq Pailwan, a long-time associate of the late leader, entered the race as an independent.
Backed by supporters, including local minority leaders, Sadiq marched to file his nomination, declaring he would not step aside. “The Congress high command had promised to give me a ticket. Since this promise was false, I have entered the fray as a rebel candidate. I am ready to face the elections as a rebel candidate. I will not withdraw from the fray for any reason,” he said.
He framed his candidacy as a response to what he described as broken assurances and neglect of minority aspirations. “I worked as a disciple and son of Shamanur Shivashankarappa for 40 years. I worked hard to help him win six elections. Even after Shivashankarappa’s departure, the hope that minorities would get a chance to contest is a lie. Congress leaders have shown negligence in accepting applications from ticket aspirants,” he said.
Dismissing the possibility of reconciliation, he said, “I will not bow to the pressure of chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar. This is a decision that has gone beyond the stage of discussion and negotiation. The minorities, backward and scheduled caste and tribal communities of the constituency are standing behind me. I am fully confident of winning the election.”
The fallout has extended beyond a single candidacy. More than 20 minority and youth leaders have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in recent days, citing dissatisfaction with the Congress decision. Some of them said they would work to mobilise further support against the Congress nominee.
The state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought to amplify the issue, portraying the Congress move as an example of dynastic politics overriding community representation. Party leader and retired IPS officer Bhaskara Rao criticised the choice, saying it ignored the expectations of Muslims in the constituency.
“The Congress party is resorting to family politics while talking about sympathy for Muslims when it comes to power or distributing election tickets. Therefore, the Muslim community should support the BJP and JDS parties at least now instead of supporting the Congress party unconditionally. If they identify with these parties too, they can prevent injustice being done to their community,” he said.
Asked whether the BJP would offer representation, he said, “We give good status to leaders of the Muslim community. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has good relations with Muslim countries and has received the highest civilian awards given by their governments.”
Congress leaders have defended their decision, saying it was based on electoral considerations. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the party had relied on internal assessments before naming its candidate.
“We all filed nominations along with Samarth. Instead of going abroad for education, he has stood here for public service. We have made some calculations and announced the candidate. We have made MLCs for minorities three times. There are many opportunities ahead. We will give them status,” he said.
The party has also indicated that it would attempt to engage with dissenting leaders. “We will take Sadiq Pailwan into confidence. We will have another round of talks when the election campaign comes,” the Congress candidate said, while acknowledging that multiple aspirants had sought the ticket.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah defended the party’s broader approach, saying, “We do not see this caste or that caste. The Congress party is a party that includes everyone. The party that does as it says is the Congress party. We have implemented five guarantee schemes. The state has ranked first in the implementation of the five guarantee schemes.”
The chief minister reiterated the party’s confidence in retaining the seat, adding, “We have won by a large margin in the last three by-elections. People have faith in us. We will win this election 100%.”