Rift in Davanagere Congress and minorities

Davanagere: Tension has surfaced within the Congress minority leadership in Davanagere, with several office-bearers of the KPCC minority unit and the Congress district minority unit preparing for a collective resignation. The move comes amid allegations that the Legislative Council member K Abdul Jabbar, a senior party leader, has been sidelined and treated unfairly by the party leadership. KPCC minority unit vice-president Mohammad Siraj said the developments after the south assembly constituency by-election deeply disappointed minority leaders. Jabbar, who has served the party for four decades, was not even invited to campaign for the party candidate despite being an influential figure in the constituency. According to Siraj, this neglect led Jabbar to resign as KPCC minority unit president on April 3, though the matter was kept quiet earlier to avoid affecting the by-election. Siraj praised Jabbar's five-year tenure as Minority unit president and said his contribution was important in helping the Congress return to power in 2023. He alleged that demands for minority representation in constituencies with significant minority voters were being wrongly portrayed and that efforts were now being made to politically isolate Jabbar after the bypoll.The leaders planning to resign include Siraj, secretaries Abdul Ghani Tahir, Hussain Ukkadagatri and Ubaidulla Attar, district minority unit working president A Abdul Jabbar, general secretary Asif Junaidi and others. They are expected to submit their resignations to DCM and KPCC President DK Shivakumar. Siraj also claimed that discord between Mines and Geology minister SS Mallikarjun and Jabbar existed since 2013, though the exact reason remained unclear. He said others exploited this rift over the years.Meanwhile, KPCC minority unit secretary Abdul Ghani Tahir alleged that attempts were being made to blame Jabbar for failures in the by-election. He warned that the controversy raised doubts about the party's commitment to social justice and could affect future elections.