BANGALORE: The Congress introspection meet to be held on Thursday looks to be a stormy affair with the pro-Ambareesh faction in Mandya Congress blaming actor and party candidate Ramya’s ‘attitude’ for her defeat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting will be attended by party office-bearers and district presidents. A group of Mandya Congress leaders—L R Shivarame Gowda, Lingaraju, Amaravathi Chandrashekar and others hit out at Ramya on Wednesday. Denying the allegation that the group loyal to Housing Minister Ambareesh was responsible for Ramya’s defeat, Shivarame Gowda said it was her ‘attitude’ that caused the party’s defeat.
“Ramya has to blame herself for her defeat,” he said. Referring to Ramya’s defeat by just over 5,000 votes, Shivarame Gowda said that JD(S) has a strong presence in Mandya.
“Ramya’s defeat by a very narrow margin indicates that we had all worked hard for her victory. She would have lost by a bigger margin if we had not campaigned for her. Ramya’s attitude of neglecting the local leaders and workers after she became an MP in the by-election was the main reason for her defeat,” he said.
Speaking to reporters, Shivarame Gowda said that they were not worried about Ramya’s reported complaint against them to the party high command.
“We are ready to explain our side of the facts to the high command and ready to face any situation that would arise,” he said. Vishwanath’s defeat from Mysore too is almost certain to evoke a long discussion at the meeting. With the party in a state of shock after its poor show in the polls, the question now is whether the leadership will take hard decisions.