Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jul 3: Even after a series of electoral defeats, the Congress high command is yet to bring about a leadership change in the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee, leaving party workers hoping for a new district president.

While the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has got a new president and significant changes have taken place in the state government, no such change has occurred in the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee. Senior leader K Harish Kumar, a native of Beltangady, has continued as the district president for the past nine years.

Since Harish Kumar assumed charge of the district unit in 2017, the party has suffered defeats in most elections held in the district. Although loyal party workers have been expecting a change in leadership, the district president has remained unchanged.

Following the resignation of former minister B Ramanath Rai as district Congress president, Ibrahim Kodijal was appointed as the party's interim district president in 2013. In the Assembly elections held that year, the Congress won all seven Assembly constituencies in Dakshina Kannada district.

Harish Kumar took over as the district Congress president in 2017. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress managed to win only one seat. Although the party secured two seats in the 2023 Assembly elections, its Lok Sabha candidate lost by a margin of 2.74 lakh votes in the 2019 parliamentary election. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress candidate reduced the margin of defeat to 1.49 lakh votes.

The party's performance in local body elections has also declined. While the Congress won 35 seats in the 2013 Mangaluru City Corporation election, the tally dropped to 14 in the 2019 election. When Harish Kumar took charge, the number of Congress-supported members in gram panchayats across the district exceeded 1,600. That figure has since fallen to around 1,000.

Party workers have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that Harish Kumar has failed to deliver the expected results in Assembly, Lok Sabha, Mangaluru City Corporation, other local body, and gram panchayat elections.

There are also allegations that the district Congress committee, once led by senior leaders such as Vishwanath, Basius D'Souza, B Ramanath Rai, Sankappa Rai, A C Bhandary and Ibrahim Kodijal, has now become completely inactive. Although the district units of the NSUI and Youth Congress remain active, the alleged inactivity of the district Congress committee has raised several questions.

Despite the party's repeated electoral setbacks under Harish Kumar's leadership, the Congress high command has continued to entrust him with new responsibilities. Harish Kumar served as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) from 2018 to 2024 and is currently the chairman of MESCOM. Party workers have alleged that by repeatedly assigning him key posts, the high command has sidelined several active leaders in the district.

Overall, despite the district having several capable leaders who could shoulder the responsibility of district Congress president, party workers are reportedly unhappy that the high command has been reluctant to appoint a new face.

Workers who had hoped that the Congress high command would initiate a leadership change following successive electoral defeats were left disappointed. However, with B K Hariprasad having now taken over as the KPCC president, party workers have renewed hope that the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee may finally get a new leader.