BENGALURU: JDS and party leader HD Kumaraswamy are seemingly continuing their efforts to woo disgruntled MLAs, who are reportedly ready to quit the party ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. Party sources said Kumaraswamy wants to send out feelers that all is not well within Congress and BJP, which denied an MLC ticket to BY Vijayendra. “I don’t think he was denied a ticket because of any principles. It will definitely boomerang on BJP,” he said.
Ahead of the June 3 MLC elections and June 10 Rajya Sabha polls, Kumaraswamy has been talking over phone and trying to patch up with the MLAs who were not on talking terms with him. They include former minister and Gubbi MLA SR Srinivas, against whom JDS had pitched another Vokkaliga Nagaraju, Arasikere MLA KM Shivalinge Gowda and Arakalagudu MLA AT Ramaswamy. All of them had given ‘Janata Jaladhare’ events a miss.
Both former PM HD Deve Gowda and former minister HD Revanna took them to task for not attending the events, sources added. “Kumaraswamy now wants to forget the past and move on, to bring the party back to power,” a leader told TNIE.
Kumaraswamy met former minister GT Devegowda and condoled the death of his grandchild recently. Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah too visited Devegowda’s family. But some Vokkaliga leaders in JDS are still not sure of tickets for themselves and their children. The situation is no different in Congress as it stated recently that it will give one ticket per family. With this, there is hope in JDS that Devegowda may stay back in the party. The bad blood between Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar in Congress too is playing on the minds of some of these fence-sitters, sources said. “Kumarawamy called, but I still have to take a decision,” a JDS MLA said.