Congress leaders and workers in Mysore district, particularly the supporters of former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah, are happy that the Congress High Command has finally done justice to their leader by appointing him as the Congress Legislature Party Leader in Karnataka.
The Congress leader was chiefly responsible for his party’s victory in Mysore and Chamarajanagar reserve Parliamentary constituencies in the recent election, while it received a drubbing in other constituencies in the state, BJP winning as many as 19 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP was counting on the Mysore Lok Sabha seat too, confident that sitting Lok Sabha member C H Vijayashankar would retain his seat. However, Siddaramaiah upset its hope by strongly backing Adagur H Viswanath, former district in-charge Minister.
So also in Chamarajanagar, where reports indicated that BJP’s A R Krishnamurthy would win, sitting MLA and close supporter of Siddaramaiah R.Dhruvanarayan scored a victory.
Speaking to Business Standard, senior leader and former Union minister V Srinivasa Prasad said justice had been done to Siddaramaiah three years after he joined the Congress, ending the concern among the party workers in Mysore. “The Congress had suffered a hat-trick defeat in Karnataka by a series of losses, in the Assembly elections, by-elections to the state Assembly and in the recent Lok Sabha polls. Siddaramaiah’s appointment has revived the hopes of the Congress workers that the party can to take a strong foothold and look forward towards better prospects,” Prasad said.
“His experience as a long-standing legislator and deputy chief minister and organisational ability can go a long way in infusing a new spirit in the party. Besides, he is a born fighter and a straight -forward speaker. These qualities, not to be found often together in a leader, can make him an effective opposition leader in the Assembly,” the Chamarajanagar leader said.
Srinivasa Prasad was also happy that dalit leader M.Mallikarjun Kharge was appointed a Union Minister. The two leaders can help revive the Congress in Karnataka and take the dalits and backward classes together, he observed.
Rural District Congress President R.Dharmasena, who made similar observations, said it would be easy for the Congress workers to work under Siddaramaiah, who has been responsible for the party’s success in Mysore district since the day he joined the Congress. He was chiefly responsible for the Congress success in seven taluks, seven out of eight Assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats in Mysore district.
“With his vast experience, dynamism and concern for people’s welfare, Siddaramaiah can provide a good leadership to the State Congress. Siddaramaih, Mysore MP Viswanath and Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge can together take all sections of people in Karnataka,” Dharmasena said.
