MYSURU: At a time when the Congress leadership is making all efforts to quell dissent within the party followingthe recent expansion of the Karnataka cabinet, three senior leaders from Mysuru district— who were denied ministerial berths— held a closed-door meeting triggering fresh speculation over the emerging power equation within the party.
Siddaramaiah’s loyalists and former ministers Dr HC Mahadevappa, K Venkatesh and Tanveer Sait though remained tight-lipped about the meeting, revealed that this would be a “new beginning and a show of strength”.
This development even prompted Urban Development Minister Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah to reach the meeting venue and a source revealed that he attempted to pacify the disgruntled leaders.
Sait said, “I will not say everything is fine in the party, nor will I say everything is not fine.”
He, however, openly acknowledged that the three leaders had been treated unfairly. “We have come together. We discussed why and where injustice was done to us. We will speak to the high command about why this injustice happened,” Sait said.
Refusing to disclose their next political move, Sait said the meeting of the three leaders would be “a beginning”. He also invoked the blessings of Goddess Chamundeshwari while stressing that the trio had independent support among their respective communities.
“We do not need to become ministers to demonstrate our strength. Each of the three of us has the support of our respective communities. We will speak about our strength at the appropriate time,” he said.
Mahadevappa, meanwhile, remained guarded about the discussions. “The three of us held a meeting. For now, I do not want to speak about politics. We discussed where things had gone wrong,” he said.
However, Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah said that he had met the three leaders seeking guidance as he is being made the district in-charge minister.