Siddaramaiah's faction for merger with Congress

The Janata Dal (S) faction led by deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah, at a special meeting on Tuesday, constituted a two-member panel to work out a merger with the Congress.

Last week, Congress president Sonia Gandhi reportedly gave her approval to Siddaramaiah's entry into the party. However, his supporters are in favour of a complete merger of the faction with Congress.

The members of the panel include Siddaramaiah and former Union minister C M Ibrahim. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Ibrahim said that the committee will examine the possibilities of merging the faction into the Congress to ensure that all the supporters of Siddaramaiah are accommodated in the party.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda had removed Siddaramaiah from the post of deputy chief minister in the erstwhile Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Seven JD(S) legislators and three former MPs joined hands with Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah's faction has named itself as the All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD), which is yet to be recognised by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly speaker and the Election Commission of India.