The proposal by some Congress leaders for realigning with the JD(S) if the BJP fails to get the required number of seats in the bypolls got resonance, with veteran Congress leaders M. Mallikarjun Kharge and M. Veerappa Moily backing such an idea, while AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal remarked that the Congress was open for a tie-up again.
Mr. Venugopal told presspersons in Hubballi on Sunday that these bypolls will be the end of the BJP government in the State and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa will have to resign on December 9, the day the results will be announced.
Similarly, Mr. Kharge told a press conference in Bengaluru that the Congress was not averse to the proposal. But a clear picture will emerge only after the results, he added.
Mr. Kharge, who played a vital role in the formation of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last week, said that the party’s main aim now is to defeat all Congress defectors. “Nearly 70% of candidates, who defected from the Congress and the NCP, had been defeated in the Maharasthra Assembly elections and the same pattern would be repeated in Karnataka too. Legislators who had benefited the most under the Siddaramaiah government defected to the BJP,” Mr. Kharge said.
The bypolls in the State have attracted national attention as the BJP government needs to win at least eight seats to continue in power.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Mr. Moily predicted a rout for the ruling BJP. He said he did not foresee the BJP winning more than two seats while the Congress will romp home in at least 12 seats, which will pave the way for the ouster of the Yediyurappa-led government.
The party’s choice for the post of Chief Minister will be decided by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he said, while adding that the party leaders should avoid confusion by issuing statements on the post of Chief Minister.
Mr. Moily claimed that the JD(S) and the Congress were on the same page regarding the removal of the BJP government.
Though JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy had initially said he would not bring down the BJP government in the State, he on Saturday emphasised the need to remove it.
So, Mr. Moily contended that the JD(S) leader’s latest statement should be taken into consideration.
