A day after a few supporters of former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna resigned from the party in Mysuru to express solidarity with him, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee member from Mandya Ravindra Srikantaiah too announced his decision to quit the party along with some followers.
Interestingly, the day saw former Minister V. Srinivas Prasad, who too quit the Congress and joined the BJP recently, meeting Mr. Krishna in Bengaluru.
Even though Mr. Krishna’s decision to part ways with the Congress so far appears to have made limited impact, his supporters argue that the veteran leader will gather support when the party’s regime in the State nears end.
“A number of Congress leaders across the State are his protégés. They still respect him. But, they are unable to express their support to him because they are enjoying power in the Congress regime. They will come out in the open only at the fag end of the State government’s tenure,” said Vikranth P. Deve Gowda, a supporter of Mr. Krishna, who resigned as the secretary of Mysuru City Congress Committee on Monday. Mr. Krishna’s supporters hope that their leader’s IT-savvy image will hold him in good stead and make him a darling of social media enthusiasts, who regale in taking potshots at the Congress and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
But Mr. Krishna, who has not promoted himself on caste lines, may not make much headway in the Vokkaliga vote base.
