JD(S) poaches Cong’s Muslim leader to take on Zameer
Bengaluru: JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, who has vowed to defeat the seven former JD(S) MLAs (who migrated to the Congress) in the upcoming elections, has finally found a replacement to take on Muslim leader Zameer Ahmed Khan in Chamarajpet.
The JD(S) is said to have decided to field local Congress leader B K Altaf Khan against Zameer. Altaf, who was in the Congress for over two decades, will be officially joining the JD(S) on Monday. The JD(S) hopes to woo the over one lakh Muslim voters in the constituency, and thereby give a tough fight to Zameer.
The party was left hanging after Zameer, its sole influential Muslim leader, decided to revolt against the JD(S) leadership.
He, along with six other MLAs, was suspended after they cross-voted in favour of the Congress Rajya Sabha candidate K C Ramamurthy in 2016.
Though the Congress is yet to announce its candidates, it is pretty certain that Zameer will be fielded from Chamarajpet, a constituency which he has nurtured since 2004.
This has upset Altaf, who was aspiring for a Congress ticket from Chamarajpet. Incidentally, Altaf’s wife Seema happens to be a Congress corporator from Jagajeevanram Nagar.