BANGALORE : Controversial Congress leader C M Ibrahim is gravitating towards the BJP, and his new-found love for Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bound to embarrass Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Now serving as Karnataka Planning Board Deputy chairman, Ibrahim has been talking to national BJP leaders and is likely to switch loyalties in November, sources close to him told Express. The former Central minister is telling people close to him that he is “impressed” with Modi’s style of governance.
“Siddaramaiah is a good friend, but my decision to consider the BJP is influenced by national interest,” he is said to have told hisaides. Ibrahim wants to meet Modi, a senior BJP functionary in the state confirmed.
“He met me and praised Modi. He asked me to convey to Modi that he would go meet him soon,” he said.
Another senior BJP leader said he was not aware of any move to bring Ibrahim into the fold. “Nowadays, it’s not so easy to meet Modi, and any meeting has to be sought with the help of some senior leader from the state,” the BJP leader said.
Bribery Charge
The BJP leader said he would respond with a firm “no” if asked about Ibrahim’s induction, considering his tainted past.
The Tatas had hinted that Ibrahim had sought a bribe of `15 crore to allow them to start an airline. Ibrahim had denied the allegation.
A longtime camp follower of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, Ibrahim reached his political peak when he was made Civil Aviation Minister in the United Front government headed by Gowda.
When Siddaramaiah left the JD(S) to join the Congress, Ibrahim followed in his footsteps and changed his loyalties.
Ibrahim’s entry into the Congress was resisted not just by other Muslim leaders like Jaffer Sharief, Rahman Khan and Roshan Baig, but also by Congressmen who had remained loyal to the party for decades.
Siddaramaiah, however, managed to get him a Congress ticket to contest the Assembly elections from Bhadravati, where he lost his deposit. After this, Siddaramaiah tried without success to make him an MLC and get him a Lok Sabha ticket.
But soon after the elections, Siddaramaiah consolidated his position in the government and made Ibrahim the deputy chairman of the Planning Board.
“This history is likely to put Siddaramaiah in trouble if Ibrahim changes sides,” a senior Congress leader said.
Bargaining Chip?
A senior functionary in the BJP suspects Ibrahim could be talking about Modi as a ploy to increase his bargaining power within the Congress. “He has done it in the past,” another senior leader said, recalling how Ibrahim had gone back to Deve Gowda ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and sought a JD(S) ticket from Bangalore Central.
A worried Siddaramaiah had then spoken to Ibrahim and assured him his interests would be protected. Soon after the elections, Siddaramaiah gave him the Planning Board position. Ibrahim might again want the Congress to placate him, a former BJP functionary said.
Ramayana Neta
Known more for his his oratory than any grassroots base, Ibrahim can recite verses from the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha. He is also fluent in quoting from the Bhagavad Gita and the vachanas.
He aspires to become the Muslim face of the BJP in the South and then climb higher, using his command over Hindu mythology and literature, a source said.