Bengaluru: A storm is brewing within the Karnataka Congress as growing resentment among Muslim leaders and organisations threatens to dent the party’s minority support base. The controversy over the Davanagere South by-election ticket allocation has triggered a wave of anger across the state’s Muslim community, which feels betrayed and humiliated by the actions of the ruling Congress government.
The crisis took a serious turn after the Congress suspended Legislative Council member Abdul Jabbar and dismissed Nasir Ahmed from his position as the Chief Minister’s political secretary. Reports now suggest that even Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan could face disciplinary action. These steps have sparked outrage among Muslim community leaders, who see them as a continuation of the Congress’s attitude of sidelining loyal Muslim voices within the party.
In response, representatives of major Muslim organizations, associations, and unions from across Karnataka have issued a joint letter to top Congress leaders, including AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and other senior figures such as KC Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Dr. Syed Nasir Hussain, and Imran Pratapgarhi. The letter conveys deep disappointment at what they call the “systematic neglect” and “discriminatory treatment” of Muslims within the party and government.
We Brought Congress to Power, But we are ignored
The letter recalls how Muslims across Karnataka overwhelmingly backed the Congress in the 2023 Assembly elections. According to the signatories, this united support was driven by a commitment to secularism and constitutional values. “The Muslims of Karnataka made a bold decision in 2023,” the letter states, “and gave unconditional support to the Congress. As a result, the party came to power with a massive majority. But since then, we have been ignored.”
The groups accuse the Congress of failing to deliver on its promises to the community. From representation in government and bureaucracy to policy benefits discussed ahead of the elections, the community says little has moved. Despite several appeals, they allege, the party has shown no will to correct the imbalance. The optics of appeasement before elections have now boomeranged into a perception of abandonment after victory.
Ticket denial ignites anger
The immediate trigger for this wave of anger was the Davanagere South by-election ticket. Muslim leaders claim that a deserving Muslim candidate was unfairly denied the nomination, despite previous assurances. “The fair demands of the community were completely ignored,” one section of the letter states, adding that Congress leaders treated Muslim aspirants “as though asking for a ticket was a crime.”
This decision, they argue, revealed a deeper problem. It reflects a pattern of exclusion and tokenism. “Is it a crime to have supported the Congress unconditionally?” the letter asks, highlighting the growing sense of disillusionment among Muslim voters. Many community representatives are now openly questioning whether Muslims should “keep their political options open” in the future. The same minority outreach that helped Congress consolidate votes in 2023 is now being cited by supporters as evidence of broken trust.
Selective Action and disciplinary bias
The Muslim leadership is also furious over what they see as selective disciplinary action. In their letter, the organisations point out that while leaders from dominant castes who worked directly against the party in the past have escaped punishment, loyal Muslim members have faced swift and harsh disciplinary measures.
“It appears that the Congress’s disciplinary rules apply only to one community,” the letter says. This, they warn, is creating suspicion and bitterness within the party’s Muslim ranks. Some even allege that the high command is trying to pit Muslim leaders against each other, deepening divisions rather than healing them. The charge of appeasement, once leveled by opponents, is now boomeranging from within as community members say they received slogans before polls and suspensions after polls.
