Bangalore:

In the battle for Karnataka, Congress, the party with the upper hand, is facing problems like never before. Ambarish has been a Lok Sabha member, a union minister and is now the chosen one for the Mandya Assembly seat. Rebel star Ambarish, as he is known in film circles, has been rebelling in real life though.

He refused to file his nomination on Monday, angry that the Congress did not issue a ticket to his choice for the neighbouring Srirangapatna constituency. Ambarish got his way on Tuesday, but the revolt is a snub to the other prominent Vokkaliga leader of the Mandya region, SM Krishna. With over 3,000 ticket seekers for the 224 assembly seats, time is running out for the Congress as Wednesday is the last date to file nominations.

Senior party leaders are unable to contain simmering resentment in other places too. In Chikaballapur, angry party workers damaged the party office. In Bellary, an ex-MLA has threatened that over 20 corporators will resign. In Shimoga, rebels are contesting as independents. In Davangere and Bangalore, there are protests against dynastic politics and the JDS is poaching unhappy Congressmen.

Ego clashes are a persistent problem with the Congress as the party has not been able to project a single leader as its face in Karnataka. Besides, while they have leaders from all communities, it has failed to appeal to the majority Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities with a united face.

source:http://ibnlive.in.com