Bengaluru: The excruciatingly long wait for results of Lok Sabha polls and contradictory reports about the prospects of his son Nikhil Gowda in politically volatile Mandya have prompted an edgy Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy, to call for a fresh post-poll survey in order to gauge the outcome in a constituency where a record 80 per cent voters turned out to pick their candidate on April 18.
Sources close to the Chief Minister's Office told Deccan Chronicle that the CM, initially confident and relaxed about the prospects of his son in view of a positive report submitted by the state intelligence department, sought another survey by officers of the department in coordination with grassroots-level contacts.
But his worries returned after a dismal picture portrayed by post-poll surveys by many media houses showed a higher turnout of women voters on the day of polling, setting off speculation voters may have been moved by an emotional speech by independent candidate Mrs Sumalatha Ambareesh, who was backed by rebel Congress leaders, the BJP, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Dalit Sangarsha Samiti.
To add to his anxiety, former ministers and Congress leaders N Cheluvarayaswamy and Mr P M Narendra Swamy, Mr Ramesh Bandisiddegowda and other rebels attended a dinner reportedly hosted by Mrs Sumalatha, an issue about which he complained to Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka, K C Venugopal, and other senior leaders, and also vent his ire at media persons immediately after a meeting with these leaders. Much to his chagrin, the Congress has not taken any action against these rebels though Mr Kumaraswamy complained about them hobnobbing with Mrs Sumalatha and the possibility that this had wrecked the prospects of Mr Nikhil Gowda.
Sources said a tense Mr Kumaraswamy has prayed at sevreal temples and consulted an astrologer in Bengaluru about the prospects of his son, and longevity of the coalition government, post May 23, the date of counting of votes.
