The best defence is offence, they say, and that’s apparently the strategy that the Congress is adopting in Karnataka. In the face of several of their leaders abandoning the Grand Old Party for rival BJP in the state, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Dr G Parameshwara has now claimed that at least 20 BJP leaders are all set to join the Congress in the next month.
Speaking to media persons in Hassan district on Tuesday, Parameshwara said that the Congress isn’t worried about those who have quit – a list that got longer on November 1, when Channapatna legislator CP Yogeeshwara quit the party citing ‘torture’ by the DK brothers – Suresh and Shivakumar. Earlier this year, Congress veteran SM Krishna, too, quit the party and joined the BJP. AH Vishwanath, V Srinivas Prasad and Jayaprakash Hegde are also on the list of leaders who had quit the Congress to join the saffron party earlier this year.
But the Congress, it seems, is confident of ‘getting back’ the numbers they’ve lost. “Twenty BJP leaders have expressed their wish to join the Congress in the next month or so. We are in close contact with these leaders. The names of those who are joining the Congress will be announced only after the candidates have been finalised. We are not worried about those who have quit,” Parameshwara said.
However, a source in the Congress said that the party high command has drawn up an action plan to ensure that its leaders do not quit.
“This plan was discussed during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Bengaluru. All the major Congress leaders were present at the time. The plan is to make sure that not another leader who is important for a win will leave the Congress. The party is sticking to this plan,” the source added.
The yatras of Karnataka
Stating that the BJP Parivarthana Yatra and the JD(S) Vikas Yatra are not threats to the Congress, Parameshwara said that the Congress is sure to win the polls in 2018.
“Let them do it. Congress has always been a party of the masses. We are an inclusive party unlike the BJP. We are known to be the party which looks out for the interests of minorities. Theses yatras are no threat to us. We have launched Mane Manege Congress. Our party workers will reach out to each and every household. We will surely come back to power,” Parameshwara told the media.
When asked about the feud between him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Parameshwara said that the “BJP must first concentrate on sorting out infighting.”
“There is no feud between CM Siddaramaiah and me. I have great respect for him. The BJP must first sort out the issue of infighting. Their leaders are always fighting amongst themselves and now they are trying to throw a dead rat into the Congress’ plate. These tactics will not work,” Parameshwara added.