How Oligarchy and Favoritism Are Eroding the Congress Grassroots
The traditional Kannada adage “sikkidavarige seerunde” —implying that sweetmeats are reserved exclusively for the favored few — has never felt more relevant than in the wake of the recent Legislative Council elections in Karnataka. While the ruling Congress party successfully secured five seats, its selection process has exposed a deep, troubling rot within its organizational structure. By completely ignoring regional balance and leaving numerous districts entirely unrepresented, the party leadership has sent a clear message: reward is a function of proximity to power, not service to the people. This blatant regional disparity is most glaringly obvious in the coastal belt. Dakshina Kannada has emerged as the singularly most favored district in the region, leaving neighboring Udupi and Uttara Kannada entirely out in the cold. Despite already holding three MLC representations in Hariprasad, Ivan D’Souza and Manjunath Bhandari, the party chose to bestow a fourth seat upon journalist...