Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar hosted a dinner meeting with Ministers and senior leaders of the party on Wednesday to discuss issues related to the forthcoming elections to rural and urban local bodies in Karnataka and the possible outcome of the Lok Sabha elections in the State as well in the country.
The meeting was held at the residence of D.K. Suresh, MP and brother of Mr. Shivakumar, in Bengaluru and it was attended by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior Ministers in the Congress government.
The dinner party also provided a platform for Ministers to assess the performance of the government which completed one year in office. The government took office on May 20, 2023.
Issues related to the alleged sexual abuse case involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, elections to six graduates and teachers’ constituencies too were reportedly discussed. The dinner meeting was organised apparently at the instructions of the party high command, sources said.
Elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have not been held since September 2020 and zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat polls were due in April-May, 2021. The State government cited delimitation of wards in BBMP as well as in zilla panchayats and taluk panchayats as a major cause for the delay in holding elections to local bodies.
The Congress government, which has implemented five guarantee schemes as promised prior to Assembly polls, has planned to hold elections to rural and urban local bodies to secure a majority of seats. Securing power in local bodies would help the Congress to increase its cadre strength.
