With the Congress sweeping the byelections to Gundlupet and Nanjangud Assembly constituencies, it appears the migration of its disgruntled leaders to other parties may stop for now.
The poll results have enthused the Congress and dealt a blow to the State BJP’s morale. Sources in the Congress camp said the party leaders and former legislators unhappy with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s style of functioning, and those denied plum posts in boards or corporations, would be in a dilemma on quitting the party in the near future.
A few Congress leaders, including S.M. Krishna, Kumar Bangarappa, L.R. Shivarame Gowda and Suresh Gowda, had quit before the byelections.
More significantly, the victory is a relief for Mr. Siddaramaiah, who has faced rebellion throughout his tenure from the party’s old guard. The central leadership is now expected to instruct veteran Congress leaders such as C.K. Jaffer Sharief, B. Janardhana Poojary and H. Vishwanath to remain loyal to the party and refrain from making harsh comments about the government.
Sources in the party said more leaders from other parties, particularly the JD(S), are expected to join the Congress in the coming days. JD(S) legislators N. Cheluvarayaswamy, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Bheema Naik and Iqbal Ansari, who had voted for the Congress party’s third candidate K.C. Ramamurthy in the Rajya Sabha elections last June, may join the party, sources added. However, Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was in New Delhi on Sunday, said the JD(S) leaders would be inducted only after consultation with central leaders.
Meanwhile, the poll defeat is said to be a major setback for BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa, who had declared that many leaders from the Congress would join the saffron party after the byelections. Former Minister and disgruntled Congress leader M. H. Ambareesh has already said he will remain with the party.
