Siddaramaiah not in a hurry to take disgruntled JD(S) leaders into Cong fold

With a section of disgruntled JD(S) legislators hobnobbing with the ruling Congress, the Siddaramaiah government appears to have assumed a wait-and-watch stand, neither spurning nor allowing them to immediately come to the party’s fold.

About a dozen JD(S) legislators, including N Cheluvarayaswamy, Zameer Ahmed, H C Balakrishna, Puttanna and Iqbal Ansari, are learnt to have approached Siddaramaiah to explore the possibility of them joining the Congress.

The legislators are said to be of the opinion that they have no future in the party, besides being unhappy with the style of functioning of father-son duo of H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy. Siddaramaiah is learnt to have told them not to take any decision in a hurry.

He is also learnt to have said that he was not ready to take the blame for poaching rival party MLAs (also called ‘Operation Hasta’), nor was there any need for him to resort to such a step. He, however, is learnt to have assured them of his co-operation.

Sources said Siddaramaiah might use the furore in the JD(S) to strengthen his position in the State Congress. His rivals in the Congress, especially those who claim to be loyal to the party, had been creating trouble for him from the day he assumed office. Siddaramaiah, too, has been struggling to shun the ‘outsider’ tag in the party. Moreover, he would like to see the Opposition JD(S) a divided house.

The Congress might make use of the unhappy JD(S) legislators in facing the urban local body and panchayat elections in various parts of the State. But the party is not averse to taking these legislators into its fold during the next Assembly elections.

JD(S) floor leader H D Kumaraswamy, when contacted, said: “I have no information of any MLA planning to join the Congress. All the 40 MLAs are together and have rallied behind me.”

Meanwhile, Y S V Datta, whose name was also making the rounds as one of those planning to join the Congress, has categorically stated that he will remain in the JD(S) till the day H D Deve Gowda remains active in politics. “My personal views on the KPSC scam, which differed from the party’s line, has been magnified as my disagreement with the JD(S). Till Deve Gowda remains active in politics, I will not quit JD(S),” said Datta.