BENGALURU: Seven of eight ministers the Congress inducted into the cabinet on Saturday are from North Karnataka. By doing so, the party is trying to assuage the sense of alienation among its leaders in the region, but in the process, party biggies in Bengaluru have been left fuming.
Senior leaders and former ministers Ramalinga Reddy, Roshan Baig and Krishnappa were among the aspirants for a ministerial berth. Though Baig and Krishnappa have not expressed their displeasure, Reddy’s daughter and Jayanagar MLA Soumya Reddy has not minced words in expressing her displeasure.
Having realised that the balancing act has not gone down well with Reddy, the party leadership tried to accommodate Soumya as Parliamentary Secretary. She rejected the post. Sources said Reddy, seven-time MLA who had held the Home and Bengaluru Development portfolios in the Siddaramaiah government, was shocked with the party’s decision to ignore him during the ministry expansion. “He felt insulted and decided to stay away from party work,” sources said.
Reddy’s decision to stay away from party work in the state capital can have an adverse impact on its prospects during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Given its good performance in Bengaluru during the assembly elections and its alliance with the JD(S), the Congress is confident of winning Bengaluru Central and North LS seats. For that to happen, the Congress needs to put up a united front against the BJP, which won all three LS seats in the city during the 2014 elections.
Now, with Reddy grumbling and leaders like Baig not taken into confidence, it is not going to be an easy task for the Congress to take on BJP. According to many leaders in the party, Reddy understands the dynamics of city politics well and has been playing a crucial role for the Congress in Bengaluru. He had ensured his daughter’s victory from Jayanagar assembly segment without any assistance from senior party leaders, and also played a key role in the city corporation elections.
According to political analyst Prof Sandeep Shastri, ministry expansion will not solve the Congress’ problems, as infighting will persist. Congress plans to use senior leaders like Ramalinga Reddy, Roshan Baig and others for party work, but is not sure how they will take it, he said.
However, a crisis in the Congress is unlikely to help the BJP. “They need to put their house in order before they try to fish in troubled waters. They have their own share of internal problems,” he added.
Political analyst Prof Harish Ramaswamy, however, said that senior leaders like Reddy and HK Patil, who had worked as ministers earlier, should now focus on strengthening the party ahead of LS polls.
Happy with role of campaign panel chief, says HK Patil
Senior Congress leader H K Patil, who was an aspirant for a ministerial berth in the coalition government, has been appointed state Congress campaign committee chief ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Water Resources and Medical Education Minister D K Shivakumar was the party campaign committee chief during the assembly elections earlier this year.
Sources close to the leader, however, said Patil was not happy with the party high command’s decision not to include him in the ministry and give him the party job. When contacted, Patil said he is happy with the new assignment given to him. “I am happy with the party’s decision as I also wanted some change after handling four portfolios continuously,” he said. Patil said senior leaders in the party had consulted him before taking the decision.
As chief of the campaign committee, Patil will closely work KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and other top leaders in the state. Along with the KPCC president, the campaign committee chief also plays a crucial role in ensuring proper coordination between different units of the party and also its alliance partners during elections.