Sharief may quit K'taka Cong as grandson denied ticket

BLACKMAILING TACTIC? Sources say Sharief wants a ticket for his grandson from Hebbel constituency, Bangalore.

J & K | Chhattisgarh | Delhi | MP |
Mizoram | Rajasthan

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

26/11: Terror comes precariously close

Featured Slideshows

New Delhi: The squabble over tickets in the Congress in Karnataka has reached a flashpoint with former Union railways minister, C K Jaffer Sharief threatening to quit the party.

Party sources say Sharief might quit because his grandson was denied a ticket in the coming Assembly elections. Sharief was reportedly trying for a seat in Bangalore for his grandson.

Despite the party accommodating his son-in-law from Raichur segment, Sharief — a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, the highest policy making body of the Congress — was bent upon getting a ticket for his grandson Rehman Sharief, but the Congress Election Committee refused to give in to his demand.

Sources close to him are now saying that he is considering joining the NCP or even the BSP.

Rattled by the sudden turn of events — which may adversely effect the Congress' chances of winning in the state — party leaders, including General Secretary Digvijay Singh, rushed to Shairef's residence to urge him not to take any hasty decisions.

However, despite the cajoling and urging, Congress sources say this is a 'blackmailing' tactic by the veteran leader to get another' ticket for a family member.

Sharief, the Chairman of the party's Election Manifesto Committee, was instrumental in drafting the manifesto that promised colour TV sets and rice at Rs 2 per kg to the poor.

The state of Karnataka goes to the polls in three phases in May.

To read IBNLive stories on mobile, log on to m.ibnlive.com on your mobile browser