BENGALURU: Even as Congress rubbishes the letter of disgruntlement written by party MLAs to
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is fake, the party is wary ahead of its legislature party meeting on Thursday.
In another letter, which is genuine, a number of signatories who have sought better coordination between legislators and ministers are Veerashaiva-Lingayats, be it BR Patil or Basavraj Rayareddi. The names of other signatories have not been made public.
While the issue is expected to come up at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, the party is extremely cautious as to how to deal with it. Sources, on condition of anonymity, said this is nothing but a ploy by MLAs, who have not got ministerial berths, to garner the attention of the government.
By doing so, they hope to get accommodated at least as chairmen of boards and corporations in the coming days, the sources added.
Sources in the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, however, said most of the signatories are Veerashaiva-Lingayats and they have resorted to this “standard technique” to get more funds for their constituencies. Congress is aware of the impact it will have on the outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections if left unattended.
In the Assembly elections, a significant number of Veerashaiva-Lingayats switched their allegiance from BJP to Congress, allowing the Grand Old Party to sweep the polls. Congress would like to retain that faith for better returns in the Lok Sabha elections.
The grouse among Congress legislators is also that many ministers do not have any pan-Karnataka appeal and their influence is restricted to their respective constituencies.