BENGALURU: With bypolls around the corner, the Congress is changing its political narrative mid-course. Now, the message the state Congress is sending out is — ‘Vote for us. We will come to power, with our coalition partner.’The party seems to have realised, rather late, that their previous narrative was not working, and surveys and assessments pointed towards BJP having an overwhelming edge, even in seats previously held by the Congress.
One Congress leader said, “Why will someone vote for us when they know we are going to sit in the opposition for the next 42 months?’’ Now, after changing its narrative, the Congress seems to have a new sense of confidence, with leaders proudly claiming that they will form the government.
What’s interesting is that senior Congress leaders such as B K Hariprasad, Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily and Dr G Parameshwara, who are close to the High Command, have also brought up the coalition angle, with the exception of Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
A senior Congress leader told TNIE, “The only dissenting voice has been Siddararamaiah’s, due to his bitter relationship with the Gowdas.’’Sources said, “The Congress High Command has been pushing for it because they realised the people want change now. They will not vote for the Congress if we tell them that we will come to power after three years, as Siddararamaiah was implying earlier.’’ Analysts point out that the Congress and JDs vote share in the 15 segments going to polls stands at a whopping 70%-plus, and even if a shift happens, it could swing things in favour of the two parties.
HDK-DKS chance meet at airport raises brows
Hubballi: Amid speculation over a possible Congress-JDS re-alliance, an accidental meet between JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leader D K Shivakumar at Hubballi airport on Monday, has raised eyebrows. The meeting went on for about 20 minutes in the VIP lounge. While it is said that the meet was casual, it is presumed to hold relevance because of the many rumours of a possible tie-up among parties.