Rift in Karnataka Congress: Allegations of Conspiracy Surface Among Muslim Leaders

A rift within the Karnataka Congress came to light on Friday, following bypolls in two Assembly constituencies. Muslim leaders from the party claimed a conspiracy by some senior leaders to defeat their official candidate in Davanagere South.

The leaders, including Chief Whip Saleem Ahmed and MLAs Rizwan Arshad and Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, conducted a press conference asserting that, despite efforts to portray a betrayal of Muslims, party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun is expected to prevail in the constituency.

Tensions within the party revolved around the demand for a Muslim candidate, with internal complaints directed at leaders like Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan. A social media campaign targeting alleged betrayals by the Congress added fuel to the discord, which arose amidst concerns of vote splitting benefiting the BJP.