BENGALURU: Lending credence to speculation that he could be back in the JDS, Congress MLC CM Ibrahim on Monday met JDS national president HD Deve Gowda at his residence. Former CM HD Kumaraswamy and Gowda — who was confined to bed for a few days over back-related issues — spoke to Ibrahim, though the details of the meeting are not clear. It is said that Ibrahim is being offered an important post in the JDS, a party he quit over serious differences with Gowda about 16 years ago.
It is no secret that Ibrahim is eyeing the post of Opposition leader in the Council, expected to be vacated by SR Patil when his six-year term concludes next year. Although Ibrahim has expressed his interest, he has not received any formal assurance from the Congress, which is still weighing its options after suffering serious poll reverses.
Among the frontrunners are backward communities leader BK Hariprasad, who has served as general secretary of ten states and and secretary of six states in the AICC. Ibrahim is not too hopeful as there are doubts that the Congress will elevate a Muslim to the position. The Karnataka Pradesh Congress got wind of Kumaraswamy visiting Ibrahim at his Benson Town residence about six days ago to invite him to rejoin his party, and KPCC president DK Shivakumar himself rushed to Ibrahim’s residence and spent considerable time with him.
Shivakumar sounded unperturbed as he told TNIE, “They have worked together, and it could have been a courtesy call. Ibrahim enjoys secular credentials.’’Ibrahim, once a Gowda loyalist, went on to become a Siddaramaiah loyalist, but of late, the two leaders have fallen out, and MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan is said to have taken his place. Ibrahim has been consistently absent at Siddaramaiah’s meetings too. In 2013, Ibrahim got the Congress ticket from Bhadravati, replacing local leader Sangameshwar, but lost. He was later accommodated as MLC.