BENGALURU: It was a day-long drama centering around JDS state president Adagur H Vishwanath publicly announcing his retirement from the post.
By Tuesday evening, however, the JDS legislature party meeting compelled him to reconsider his decision with legislators appealing to him not to add to the crisis already brewing in Karnataka.
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The frustration over the outcome of the Lok Sabha election now seems to be directed at one man — Siddaramaiah — from both Congress and JDS.
Citing abject failure of coordination between Congress and JDS and upset over the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Vishwanath on Tuesday submitted a two-page resignation letter to JDS national president H D Deve Gowda, lambasting Congress legislature party chief and coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah. He even read out his letter at a press conference.
Vishwanath was the third leader to launch an attack on Siddaramaiah on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, two senior leaders of the Congress — Ramalinga Reddy and Roshan Baig — had already had their go at the former Chief Minister, miffed over being ignored by the Congress.
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While Ramalinga Reddy who put out a series of tweets took jibes at “outsiders getting prominent roles in Congress” in reference to a host of leaders including Zameer Ahmed and Siddaramaiah, Roshan Baig and Vishwanath directly named Siddaramaiah. While Baig blamed the Congress’ state of affairs on Siddaramaiah’s arrogance, Vishwanath held him responsible for the failure of the coordination committee.
Vishwanath wrote to JDS national president H D Deve Gowda expressing ‘great disappointment’ over not being included in the coalition coordination committee and accused the Congress of conspiring against Deve Gowda in Tumkur and Nikhil Kumar in Mandya Lok Sabha seats, resulting in their humiliating defeat.
“Leaders of the Congress, including former MLAs, worked against our candidate in Mandya. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has been suffering at the hands of Congress,” Vishwanath told reporters.
“Your defeat in Tumkur has hurt me and the party. The Congress deliberately refused us the Mysore seat and compelled you to contest from Tumkur where it had an incumbent MP. They conspired to ensure a humiliating defeat,” Vishwanath told Deve Gowda in his letter.
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He took a jibe at Siddaramaiah accusing him of toying with the coordination panel and refusing state presidents of both JDS and Congress a place in the committee.
“The coordination committee has failed miserably in ensuring coordination between the two parties. It hasn’t even been able to come up with a common minimum programme,” Vishwanath said adding no honest effort has been made to make the coalition work.
While appreciating CM H D Kumaraswamy for his work in the last one year, Vishwanath claimed that no development work had been taking place except in a few departments.
Hours after submitting his resignation, however, Vishwanath attended the JDS legislature party meeting where he was asked to reconsider his decision. He is said to have sought a few days’ time.
Party insiders suggest that Vishwanath had been disgruntled over not being consulted on any decisions. Not taking his opinion on the choice of candidates in the recently concluded Urban Local body polls seems to have been the last straw.
As state president, he wasn’t even informed of seat-sharing formula between the two parties even during the Lok Sabha polls.