Tough time for Congress after raid at mantri house

Bengaluru: With the main fundraiser of the Congress, energy minister D.K. Shivakumar, facing the heat after a series of raids in his houses and establishments, the party’s prospects in the December Assembly polls in Gujarat may take a severe hit.

The reason: Karnataka, which is one of the few states where the Congress is in power, was expected to heavily fund the party’s campaign in Gujarat with Mr Shivakumar doing the groundwork, which is not likely to happen now.

Many in the Congress are terming the raids as revenge taken by BJP national president Amit Shah against Ahmed Patel, the political secretary of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, who is fighting the August 8 Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat. Mr Shivakumar was assigned the task of safeguarding 44 Gujarat Congress MLAs from poaching by the BJP and had lodged them at a resort in the outskirts of Bengaluru.