CORRIDORS OF POWER

‘Adjustment’ politics Before the official list of candidates was announced by the BJP, Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna took everyone by surprise by announcing that Congress’s S.P. Muddahanume Gowda will lock horns with former Minister V. Somanna from the saffron party in Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency.

Many Congress leaders in Tumakuru constituency were disappointed with Mr. Rajanna’s “announcement.” Though it is rumoured that Mr. Somanna will get BJP ticket, the party is yet to officially announce its candidate. However, Congress leaders now began talking about “adjustment politics” in Tumakuru and alleged Mr. Rajanna’s role in it. Mr. Rajanna, who stoked a controversy by demanding appointment of four Deputy Chief Ministers in the Siddaramaiah government, has reportedly convinced Home Minister G. Parameshwara and succeeded in giving ticket to Mr. Muddahanume Gowda, who recently quit the BJP and joined the Congress. With dissidence brewing in Tumakuru constituency, Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC general secretary incharge of Karnataka, summoned some party leaders to Delhi in a move to douse the discontent.

Campaign against Shobha, Hegde

A few people, said to be workers of the BJP, launched a campaign opposing the party’s ticket to Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje from UdupiChikkamagaluru Lok Sabha seat this time. It is not clear who ran that campaign. Some people within the party suspected that it could be the handiwork of other ticket aspirants.

Ms. Karandlaje, reacting to the statement, said she had been doing the job assigned to her with honesty, and the party’s senior leaders would respond to such campaigns against her. Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa stood by her. He not only hinted that she would get the ticket, but also added that she would win with a higher margin this time than the previous election. Similarly, in the Congress camp, there are reports that former MP K. Jayaprakash Hegde, who worked as chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, will join the Congress and get a chance to contest from the UdupiChikkamagaluru seat. Earlier, he contested for the seat and won.

Later, he joined the BJP. Now, a group of Congress workers has launched a campaign on social media platforms against Mr. Hegde. They have urged the party not to give ticket to someone who would join the party only to seek ticket.