The dispute over the choice of Congress candidate for the Davanagere South bypoll in Karnataka, held on April 9, is blowing up in the face of the beleaguered ruling party in the state.On Monday, Congress MLC Naseer Ahmed was asked to step down as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s political secretary with immediate effect, making him the second Muslim leader against whom the party has initiated action for alleged anti-party activities during the bypoll.AdvertisementEarlier, three-time MLC Abdul Jabbar stepped down as chairman of the Congress Minority Department, a post he had held since October 2021.The role of Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, a close aide of Siddaramaiah, is also under a cloud. Sources said Khan was called by the CM for a meeting on Tuesday morning.The row is over the allegation by Congress leaders that many of their Muslim counterparts in the party did not put up enough efforts to campaign in Davanagere South, which has around 35% Muslim voters, affecting the chances of party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun.AdvertisementClaims have also been made that some Congress leaders funded the candidate of the Social Democratic Party of India, a party that claims to represent Muslim interests.The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA and veteran Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who had won from Davanagere South in the 2023 Assembly elections by 28,000 votes. The BJP has fielded Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, who like Samarth Mallikarjun is fighting his maiden election.Dismissing the allegations, Zameer Ahmed told reporters Tuesday that he could not focus on Davanagere South as he was selected by the party as a star campaigner for the Kerala Assembly polls, which were also on April 9. “After the CM announced that I would campaign (for the bypoll), I requested AICC general secretary KC Venugopal to allow me to do so,” he said, adding that he held a road show in Davanagere South on April 5.On claims of Muslim leaders staying away due to differences over the choice of candidate, Zameer said this there was nothing hidden in this as he had demanded ticket for a Muslim candidate at a party meeting, which was attended by AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala, and Karnataka Congress president and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar.“Seven Muslim aspirants applied for the seat. I even offered to resign in case they lost,” he said.One of the frontrunners, incidentally, was Jabbar, and Zameer conceded the party’s logic against fielding him saying he had three years left in his six-year term as MLC.The Congress’s choice for candidate, Samarth Mallikarjun, is the grandson of the late Shivashankarappa. Mallikarjun’s father S S Mallikarjun is the Mines and Geology Minister, while his mother Prabha is the Davanagere Lok Sabha MP. This was one of the reasons cited by those opposed to his candidature.However, Congress leaders, including from the Muslim community, who supported the decision to pick Mallikarjun pointed out that in the Bagalkot Assembly seat, where a bypoll was also held on April 9, the party had fielded former MLA H Y Meti’s son Umesh.“When the member of one family was given the ticket in one constituency, how could we deny the same at Davanagere South? Moreover, members of the family of deceased legislators are traditionally picked as candidates,” Congress MLC Saleem Ahmed said.To make things worse for the Congress, in the days leading up to the April 9 bypoll, there were protests by the Muslim community over the party candidate. Congress leader Sadiq Pahilwan even filed his nomination papers as a rebel. The Congress managed to convince him to withdraw, but by then the last day to do so had passed, meaning Pahilwan remains on the candidate list.Soon after polling ended, the party infighting broke out into the open. On April 10, Saleem Ahmed and Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad held a news conference at the PCC office, accusing “some minority leaders” of conspiring to sabotage party prospects in Davanagere South.Arshad also said that while this section wanted Jabbar as a candidate, he was not popular and the party could have lost due to it.Jabbar, in turn, hit back. In his letter stepping down as Minority Department chief, which he sent on April 3 but which was released to the media on April 11, he wrote: “Minority voters and minority office-bearers are the backbone of our great Congress party and (the community) certainly deserves better.”Saying he had resigned as he was saddened by allegations against him, Jabbar told mediapersons: “Some people are using minority leaders to speak against us, using the Congress office.”This was seen as a swipe at Shivakumar, who is the PCC chief, with the tussle between him and Siddaramaiah continuing.you may likeReacting to Naseer being told to step down, Shivakumar said Tuesday that the Davanagere South candidate had been finalised by taking everyone into confidence. “After that, all these activities started. We were in touch with leaders who have given reports. Based on it, the CM took a call.”Congress sources said the fact that Pahilwan’s withdrawal came after the deadline ended was also a key issue. “Naseer Ahmed had been told to fly to Davanagere South and ensure Pahilwan withdrew his papers. However, he went to the Bengaluru helipad and turned back. He was apparently asked by another Congress leader not to go,” said a source.As per sources, Zameer Ahmed too may face action. “Naseer dragged his heels over resigning on own. Due to the delay, the government issued the order asking him to step down,” a Congress leader pointed out.