BENGALURU: While political corridors are filled with murmurs of ‘miffed’ sitting BJP MP and former chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket, CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar have different views on this idea.
While the CM is reportedly against fielding Gowda on a Congress ticket, Shivakumar is said to have approached an ‘upset’ Gowda and offered him a party ticket to contest from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency.
Gowda announced his retirement from electoral politics last November. He, however, expressed his desire to contest the Lok Sabha polls from his constituency of Bengaluru North, saying there was pressure from his supporters. However, the BJP top brass fielded sitting Udupi-Chikkamgaluru MP Shoba Karandlaje from Bengaluru North. Gowda, on Monday too, said that he has kept his options open.
Shivakumar said it was common in politics for politicians to jump to a different party if their party denied them the ticket.
Meanwhile, there is also opposition from several Congress leaders, including CM Siddaramaiah, to fielding Gowda from the party. Siddaramaiah fears a recurrence of the former CM Jagadish Shettar episode.
Shettar, who had quit BJP ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections after he was denied a ticket, later joined Congress and contested the polls unsuccessfully. Shettar, however, recently returned to BJP causing much embarrassment to Congress.
Gowda cancelled his press conference on Tuesday and said he would address the media on Wednesday. BJP sources said that the senior Vokkaliga leader was approached by both Congress and BJP leaders. On Tuesday, Gowda met the office-bearers of Vokkaliga Sangha. Sangha members too expressed their displeasure with BJP for sidelining Vokkaligas.
On Tuesday, BJP leaders from Delhi contacted Gowda and tried to pacify him. They reportedly told him that the party would field him from Chikkaballapura, which is now represented by Bacchegowda, another Vokkaliga leader. Even state BJP president BY Vijayendra spoke to Gowda.
When contacted, Gowda continued to remain silent and said, “I will not speak now.”