Jagadish Shettar | Photo Credit: file photo
Two prominent Lingayat leaders from Kittur Karnataka region --- former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar --- who are believed to have played a crucial role in the Congress regaining its foothold in the region, have been surprisingly left out from the Cabinet in the newly-formed Congress government.
Sources confirmed that the party high command had reached out to them through other leaders to convey the message that they would get their due place soon. However, it is not yet clear how the party would reward them for the role they played in increasing the party’s tally in the region.
Revolt and defection
In the run-up to the Assembly elections in Karnataka, both these Lingayat leaders, then with the BJP, had revolted against their party and disobeyed the diktat of the saffron party.
They had not only raised the issue of alleged ill-treatment of Lingayat leaders, including former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, by the BJP, particularly by party’s national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh, but had subsequently quit the party to join the Congress.
Political observers feel their entry into Congress gave a boost to the party in the region, which was facing a dearth of prominent Lingayat faces at least in the Kittur Karnataka region. Consequently the Congress increased its seat share in the region.
Mr. Savadi won with a record margin of over 72,000 votes from Athani constituency. Although Mr. Shettar failed to retain the Hubballi-Dharwad Central Assembly Constituency, which he had won six times in a row, his revolt against the BJP did affect its prospects in many constituencies in the Kittur and Kalyana Karnataka regions, believe observers.
And it was the reason for which, former Minister M.B. Patil, who has now been inducted into the Cabinet, and other senior Congress leaders, expressed confidence that Mr. Shettar and Mr. Savadi would be recognised suitably by the party high command.
According to insiders, the party high command too appeared positive in this regard and the tone and tenor of the senior leaders’ responses indicated the same.
However, now both have missed the Cabinet berth, but have remained silent. Only in Athani, Pradeep Nandagaon , Congress leader and a close follower of Mr. Savadi, expressed displeasure at the Congress high command not inducting his leader.
