Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who pulled off a surprise victory in the recent Bellary bypoll, hitherto a stronghold of the BJP, won rare praise from Congress president Sonia Gandhi during their brief meeting on Wednesday night, setting off speculation he may have the upper hand ahead of their scheduled meet on the issue of cabinet expansion.
Mr Siddaramaiah, who consulted senior central leaders of the party soon after his arrival in New Delhi on Wednesday has stood fast against pressure from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr G. Parameshwar who has been demanding the post of deputy chief minister. The KPCC chief was conspicuous by his absence at parleys held by the Chief Minister.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior Congress leader said: "The moment he landed in Delhi, Mr Siddaramaiah was closeted with two powerful general secretaries, B. K. Hariprasad and Oscar Fernandes, for more than two hours.”
The three leaders left soon to attend another round of discussions with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. This meeting went on till late in the night.
