Amid busy campaign for the byelections, the former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah appears to be the target of barbs from many sides, including from some of his own partymen. This perception led to a Twitter war on Friday, with BJP leaders taking potshots at him and the Congress leader arguing that their constant criticism springs from their “fear” of him.
Picking on the alleged differences Mr. Siddarmaiah has with a section of senior leaders within his party, the Opposition parties, particularly the BJP, have been targeting the Congress leader saying he is the “lone campaigner” for the party candidates in the 15 constituencies and that the party is riddled with groups. The absence of Congress leaders, including G. Parameshwara, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, H.K. Patil, and K.H. Muniyappa on the campaign trail has given ammunition to the BJP.
‘Deserted’ after elevation
Union Minister for Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel, and Revenue Minister R. Ashok have alleged that several senior leaders had “deserted” Mr. Siddaramaiah after he was elevated as the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Gowda, while campaigning for disqualified JD(S) MLA K. Gopalaiah in Mahalakshmi Layout segment on Friday, said Mr. Siddaramaiah had no support from within his party. “The party with differences and confusion is losing identity in the country,” he said, and added, “And is anyone with Mr. Siddaramaiah in Karnataka?”
Hitting back at the barrage of comments by BJP leaders, Mr. Siddaramaiah, said it was fear that was driving them to make such comments and make him their lone target. “It seems like Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have promised State BJP leaders some prize to whoever criticises me the most,” he said.
Particularly targeting Mr. Gowda, he said in another tweet that he had only “sympathy” for him. The Congress leader argued that Mr. Gowda had been “rejected” by his own party, considering how he was consistently “downgraded” after once being made the Chief Minister of the State.
‘Campaign begins today’
Giving little credence to the BJP leaders’ criticism, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao said Mr. Siddaramaiah had started campaign early and others were set to join him.
“The party’s campaign starts on November 23,” he said. Dr. Parameshwara, Mr. Muniyappa and D.K. Shivakumar would campaign for the party candidates in the coming days, Mr. Rao said.
The December 5 bypolls are significant for the BJP to ensure stability of the government. For the Congress, it is a matter of prestige to defeat the disqualified MLAs who caused the downfall of the erstwhile coalition government, Mr. Rao said.
