K Abdul Jabbar, chairperson of the minority wing of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), has resigned amid allegations of anti-party activities. The former Member of the Legislative Council submitted his resignation to KPCC president DK Shivakumar on April 3, but later questioned why the letter was made public only now.
Jabbar, a former president of the Davanagere District Congress Committee, had been appointed to head the KPCC Minority Cell by Shivakumar in November 2021.
On April 12, Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, formally accepted the resignation. In a media statement issued in Bengaluru, he said the Minority Wing committee constituted under Jabbar had been dissolved with immediate effect, and that a new committee would be formed soon.
The development comes in the backdrop of internal tensions within the party following a press conference on April 3 by Government Chief Whip Saleem Ahmed and Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad. At the briefing, they alleged that senior Muslim leaders had attempted to undermine the Congress campaign in the Davanagere South bypoll, remarks widely seen as targeting Jabbar, Housing Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, and Chief Minister’s Political Secretary Naseer Ahmed.
About a week later, an internal report by AICC Secretary-in-charge for Karnataka Abhishek Dutt flagged multiple issues during the bypoll campaign. The report allegedly named Jabbar and Zameer Ahmed Khan among leaders who stayed away during the early stages, contributing to poor coordination and factionalism among minority leaders.
Jabbar, however, maintained that his resignation was not linked to the report. In his letter, he said he had been marginalised during the campaign and alleged attempts to sideline certain leaders while forming a “syndicate” within the minority leadership. He warned that such moves would not yield positive results for the party.
He also criticised the treatment of Zameer Ahmed Khan, describing him as a “star campaigner” of the Congress, and said no accountability had been fixed for the alleged mistreatment. Jabbar added that office-bearers in his department, along with community and religious leaders, were “distressed and disappointed” by recent developments, and that it would therefore be inappropriate for him to continue in the role.
This article was written by a student intern working with TNM.