Congress Struggles to Keep Flock Together in Karnataka, Rushes Ghulam Nabi, Venugopal For Damage Control

The allies could manage just 1 seat each in the Lok Sabha elections. That, coupled with upset Congress MLAs, is an issue that Ghulam Nabi Azad and Venugopal are likely to address.

New Delhi: Even as the crisis deepens over Rahul Gandhi’s insistence to quit as party president following Congress’ rout in Lok Sabha elections,  the Karnataka government, which the party runs in coalition with the JD(S), is struggling to survive. So much so, that the Congress has had to rush senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal to the state. (Catch Complete Coverage of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Here)

This comes amid speculation over the longevity of the year-old JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka. Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has already met some dissident Congress MLAs. While disgruntled MLAs have always complained about how ‘unavailable’ the CM is, Kumaraswamy went out of his way to placate upset MLAs.

On Sunday, Karnataka Congress MLAs, Ramesh Jharkiholi and K Sudhakar, had met BJP leader S M Krishna, sparking reports of dissidence. According to PTI, Azad and Venugopal were likely to hold discussions with the top leaders of the party in the state to get the government back on track.

Meanwhile, Congress has convened a meeting of its legislature party today to discuss the current political developments in the state. With the backdrop of the rout of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the Lok Sabha polls, the allies got one seat each out of the 28, and simmering discontent within the party, these are the issues to dominate the CLP meeting.

In a letter to party legislators, including members of the legislative council, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, CLP leader Siddaramaiah said the meeting would be held at a hotel in Bengaluru on May 29 at 6 PM to discuss the current political developments. “All MLAs should be present at the meeting without fail and give valuable suggestions,” it said, adding that Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao, among others, would be present.

BJP’s Karnataka chief BS Yeddyurappa also said it would be “better” if the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in the state dissolved the assembly and went for fresh polls.