Addressing a press conference at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, Deputy Chief Minister and Congress State President DK Shivakumar announced the results of the Youth Congress election.
Published Feb 21, 2025 | 8:39 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 21, 2025 | 8:39 AM
HS Manjunath. (Instagram)
Synopsis: Karnataka Youth Congress appointed HS Manjunath as its new president. Manjunath won the election by a margin of 2.71 lakh votes. He was appointed the working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress in February 2024.
The Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (KPYCC) on Thursday, 20 February, appointed former National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) state head HS Manjunath as its new president.
Manjunath was appointed the working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress in February 2024 by the then-national president BV Srinivas as the Congress geared up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, focusing on strengthening its party organisation.
Addressing a press conference at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, Deputy Chief Minister and Congress State President DK Shivakumar announced the results of the Youth Congress election.
“The Youth Congress election results were announced last week, and our senior leaders interviewed three candidates yesterday. Finally, HS Manjunath has been chosen as the president of the Youth Congress,” he said.
Manjunath won by a margin of 2.71 lakh votes.
Announcing the results, Shivakumar said, “This time, over 25 lakh members participated in the elections, and voting was conducted online. Around 40 to 50 percent of the votes were rejected. Abdul Desai secured 45,968 votes, Deepika Reddy received 2,92,705 votes, and HS Manjunath won with 5,67,343 votes, achieving victory with a margin of 2,71,638 votes.”
Claiming zero interference from KPCC in this election process, DK Shivakumar said that the candidates fought in their own way and that the National Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu selected Manjunath.
He also had a word of appreciation for Mohammed Nalapad Harris who served as the Youth President in the state. “He was actively involved in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, elections, and Gandhi Bharat programs. On behalf of the KPCC, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to him and his team,” he added.
In the January 2021 KPYCC presidential election, Nalapad had secured more votes (64,203) than Raksha Ramaiah (57,271). Ramaiah was declared the winner while Nalapad was disqualified because of a 2018 assault case.
However, the Congress had then decided that Ramaiah would be president till 31 January 2022 and Nalapad would take over after that. In that election, Siddaramaiah had backed Ramaiah while DK Shivakumar had batted for Nalapad.
Shivakumar reminded the party cadres to work together without any factionalism.
“Winning elections is not the only goal. Now that the elections are over, everyone should work together without engaging in factionalism. We must stand united, believe in the principles of the Congress party, and bring all its members together to fight against the BJP and JD(S),” he advised the new team.
“We must fight against our political opponents, not among ourselves,” Shivakumar said.
“I will soon hold a meeting with all the newly elected Youth Congress office bearers to guide them on how they should work moving forward. Local body elections are approaching in the next two to three months, and BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) elections are also nearing. We are making all the necessary preparations. We have submitted an affidavit to the court, and the process of reservation and constituency reorganization is underway,” he said.
“Soon, we will inform the court about the possible election dates. A committee led by MLA Rizwan Arshad is gathering opinions on BBMP matters. From now on, everyone must be prepared at the booth level,” he urged the newly appointed youth committee.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
