BANGALORE: The AHINDA factor has influenced Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress leaders in the selection of candidates for the elections to the Legislative Council from the Legislative Assembly to be held on June 1.

Both parties have indulged in one-upmanship in selecting backward class and Scheduled Caste candidates to score points over AHINDA (a federation of Dalits, minorities and backward classes), which has lately not been in the news.

The selection of candidates has given room for much unrest in the Congress among the dominant castes — Lingayats and Vokkaligas. The four candidates selected by the party are Motamma (Scheduled Caste), Quazi Ershad Ali (Muslim), K.C. Kondaiah and V.R. Sudarshan (Other Backward Classes).

When it comes to the JD(S) selections, Abdul Azeem is a Muslim, Chikkamadu (Scheduled Tribe), H.C. Neeravari (Other Backward Classes), and only Amarnath Shetty (Bunt) belongs to a dominant caste.

It is being stated that All-India Progressive Janata Dal national president C.M. Ibrahim withdrew from the race as the All-India Congress Committee expressed itself against Congress MLAs in the State supporting his candidature. It was noted that Mr. Ibrahim was a member of the Deve Gowda government at the Centre, which the Congress had to pull down, and was also connected with the AHINDA, which threatens the party base in some districts.

It is noteworthy that MLAs from smaller groups such as the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti and the JD(U) and single-member parties sponsored the candidature of an independent, A. Prasad (Jalahalli Prasad) in the election. They had a grouse that the Congress did not consult them while fielding Mr. Sudarshan, who is the Council Chairman, and their support was taken for granted. Though Mr. Prasad's nomination papers were found to be in order, he withdrew from the fray on Thursday, the last date for withdrawal of candidature.

There is the talk in political circles that the JD(S) would not have fielded a fourth candidate if the Congress had selected the former KPCC spokesman Mohan Kondajji or general secretary Mohan Bhandary as its candidate as they are not among the Deve Gowda baiters in the Congress.

It is also noteworthy that the three major parties — the BJP, the Congress and the JD(S) — have given a raw deal to North Karnataka in the matter of selection of candidates. Only two are from that region: the former member of the Karnataka Public Service Commission H.C. Neeravari (JD-S), who is from Raichur district, and Quazi Ershad Ali (Congress) from Bidar district. There is no candidate from the Bombay Karnataka districts whereas two candidates have been chosen from Bellary district.

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