The Congress in Karnataka is planning to split the Janata Dal in the state if the United Front tries to break the Congress at the national level. The Congress move is centered around former Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, founder of the Lokshakti party.
We have a counter strategy to split the Janata Dal, with Hegde at the forefront, if Deve Gowda tries to break our party said a senior Congress leader. A senior functionary of Lokshakti confirmed the move. He told Business Standard: It is incorrect to say that the Congress is trying to use Hegde, though the fact remains that around 20 Lok Sabha members of the Janata Dal are in touch with us to chalk out their future strategy.
Most of the 18 JD Lok Sabha members from Karnataka want to avoid a mid-term poll. At least a dozen of them are indebted to Hegde. Its but natural for them to look up to him in this hour of crisis, a Lokshakti leader said. According to him, whether the Congress wants it or not, the Janata Dal would split. A few of the 22 MPs from Bihar may join the breakaway group. According to the sources, Karnataka and Orissa would bring in the maximum number of Lok Sabha members to Hegdes camp, while the Bihar unit may lend a few more if need be, to show Gowda his place.
There are rumours that Hegde and the Congress have joined hands to takeover the state government once the Deve Gowda government falls on April 11. According to G Puttaswamy Gowda, a Deve Gowda-friend turned foe, we have been in touch and things have started falling into place. We expect at least 65 to 70 of the 112 strong JDLP to move over to Lokshakti and if Chief Minister Patel mends his ways and joins us he will bring an additional 20 plus. With the Congress strength of 41, he claimed that the takeover of the state government is a foregone conclusion once the Deve Gowda government falls. Even if Chief Minister J H Patel decides to stay with Gowda, Congress and Lokshakti leaders believe that deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and transport minister P G R Sindhia would leave the Dal with around 26 MLAs from the non-Lingayat, non-Vokkaliga group as they are fed up with the prominence gained by the two sons of the PM and they way Devegowda has been treating them after encouraging them to snipe at Patel initially.
Incidentally, around 26 ministers, including the deputy CM, have stayed back in Bangalore ever since Kesari dropped the bombshell. Most of them have refused to make statements, and are staying noncommittal. Siddaramaiah has said that Gowda will prove his majority for records sake.
Meanwhile, Union textile minister R L Jalappa held a meeting of backward class legislators and ministers to chalk out the groups future strategy before going to Delhi three days ago. The group, according to sources, decided to stall any move to impose a Vokkaliga or a Lingayat as the state unit president, even if it meant opposing the diktat of Deve Gowda. The Gowda camp have already queered the pitch to replace Union civil aviation minister C M Ibrahim with B L Shankar, a Vokkaliga and a trusted aide of Deve Gowda, as the next state unit president.
