Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah, who attended the Congress Working Committee meeting in New Delhi on Monday, has reportedly been asked to withdraw his resignation by the party high command and requested to cooperate with the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in preparing it to face the next Assembly elections.
According to sources close to KPCC president G. Parameshwara, who also attended the CWC meeting, Ahmed Patel, political secretary to All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi, is said to have asked the AICC general secretary Madhusudhan Mistry, in charge of Karnataka, to inform Mr. Siddaramaiah not to insist on accepting his resignation.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who reluctantly agreed to go to Davangere and participate in the interaction meeting chaired by the AICC general secretary and MP Rahul Gandhi, where he was convinced to attend the CWC meeting as an invitee, was reportedly advised to understand the Congress culture of respecting the decisions taken by the high command. But, sources said that Mr. Siddaramaiah had been nursing a grouse that he was not allowed to meet Ms. Gandhi or Mr. Patel, who always ask him to meet Mr. Mistry for any discussion or guidance.
Though the Congress had a soft corner for Mr. Siddaramaiah, keeping in mind his mass base as a prominent backward class leader, commanding respect among other communities as well in the State, the sources said the party was informed of the cold war between him and Dr. Parameshwara in recent months. It included his failure to attend the KPCC programme — Join Congress, bring about a change — launched in Tumkur district, in spite of the personal invitation by Dr. Parameshwara.
Some leaders close to Mr. Siddaramaiah are of the view that he was only using the denial of ticket to his friend and former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim to contest the Legislative Council elections as an reason to raise the banner of revolt, knowing fully well that the party was not going to oblige Mr. Ibrahim with the Council seat, a long-time arch critic of the Congress and its leaders.
They also said that he was nursing an ambition to become KPCC president now, especially when the Assembly elections are round the corner, thanks to the internecine infighting in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, as it would automatically catapult him to the seat of power in Vidhana Soudha, if the Congress gets a majority. They argue that it happened in the case of Veerendra Patil and S.M. Krishna, without realising the fact both the leaders had earned the goodwill of the high command.
Meanwhile, several leaders/workers had demanded Mr. Rahul Gandhi to remove Mr. Mistry and that latter had assured them that the issue would also be discussed at the highest level. One of the leaders, who rushed to Mr. Siddaramaiah`s residence to advise him to be patient, said that the party was in a delicate position in view of the coming Assembly elections.
