BENGALURU: For the first time in over three decades, the JD (S) and the Congress leaders from Ramanagara were brought on one platform by the senior leaders, who tried to convince them to work together to defeat the BJP in the November 3 bypolls.
As many Congress leaders from Ramanagara were not keen on working for the JD (S) candidate, Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar took the initiative to quell the trouble. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Congress leader and MP DK Suresh and other senior leaders from both the parties also attended the meeting.
During the meeting, Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy tried to iron out differences among the local leaders and asked them to work together. The marathon meeting that started in the evening went up to 1 am, said a Congress leader. Chief Minister’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy is contesting as the JD (S) candidate from the assembly segment and the BJP has fielded L Chandrashekar.
Chandrashekar had left Congress and joined BJP after the bypolls were declared. The BJP hardly has any presence in the constituency in which the Congress was seen as the main rival for the JD (S). Now with the Congress supporting the JD (S), the fight is between the coalition partners and the BJP.
Terming the meeting between the Congress and the JD (S) workers as historic, Ramanagara district in-charge minister Shivakumar asked his party leaders to ensure victory of the JD (S) candidate as the regional party is supporting the Congress candidates in other constituencies. Of the five seats, the JD (S) is contesting from two Lok Sabha and one assembly seat, while the Congress is contesting from remaining two seats.
Congress leader Iqbal Hussein, who had threatened to contest as an independent candidate also attended the meeting. Hussein had contested as Congress candidate against H D Kumaraswamy in the assembly elections earlier this year.
The bypoll was necessitated after Kumaraswamy, who was elected from two assembly segments, vacated Ramanagara.