Mysore/Mysuru: In a surprise development, Congress MLA Tanveer Sait has decided to retire from active politics. Tanveer Sait, also a former Minister, who had won successively five times including one by-election from Narasimharaja (N.R.) Constituency on a Congress ticket, has decided to quit electoral politics citing health issues.
The MLA is said to have written a letter in this regard to the Congress High Command last December itself when the Belagavi Assembly Session was underway. In his letter, Sait is said to have appealed the Congress High Command to allow his retirement from electoral politics, while assuring the Congress top brass that he would stay as a Congressman till his last breath.
Taken aback by the sudden decision of Sait, Congress General Secretary In-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar, Opposition leader Siddharamaiah and other top leaders asked Sait to drop his retirement plans. But Sait, who is yet to recover fully from the murderous assault on him that took place in November 2019, is said to have cited health issues that has hindered him from serving the people of his Constituency.
He is also said to have told the Congress High Command that N.R. Constituency is a stronghold of the Congress and that he would work to his full might if the Congress fields former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah from N.R. Constituency.
With Tanveer Sait adamant on not contesting the polls, the Congress is said to be mulling on fielding former Mayor Ayub Khan from N.R. Assembly segment, which the Congress has been representing for decades, barring only once, when Maruti Rao Pawar of the BJP had won from N.R. in 1994.
He had won five times from N.R. Constituency on a Congress ticket
Though I had written to the Congress High Command in December last that I would not contest the ensuing Assembly elections from N.R. Assembly Constituency, I had applied seeking Congress ticket as I faced immense pressure from Congress workers and also to ensure that it does not send a wrong message to the party. I am not going to contest the 2023 polls as my present health condition does not permit me. As a trusted worker, I am awaiting the Congress High Command’s decision. Also, no other member from my family is prepared to contest the polls and as such I have not sought ticket for any of my family members. I will work for any other candidate chosen by the High Command. — Tanveer Sait, MLA
This post was published on February 28, 2023 8:00 pm