Bengalur: It’s sweet revenge for former CM Siddaramaiah who had bitten the dust against his bete noire and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Mr G.T. Deve Gowda in Chamundeshwari assembly constituency in the recently held assembly polls.
This time round, Mr G.T. Deve Gowda lost out in the race to have his candidate as the Mysuru mayor with Mr Siddaramaiah having the last laugh by securing the mayor's post for the Congress.
In a dramatic turn of events, Mr Gowda gave up his efforts to bag the mayor post for his protégé after JD(S) supremo and former PM Mr H.D. Deve Gowda instructed him to sacrifice it for the Congress party.
Mr Siddaramaiah had been waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on Mr G.T. Deve Gowda and the Mysuru mayoral polls came as a blessing in disguise for him.
The Congress staked claim to the mayor's post and got it due to the intervention of Mr Siddaramaiah. At one point of time, tourism minister and JD(S) leader Sa Ra Mahesh hinted at joining hands with the BJP to prevent the Congress from coming to power in the corporation but the JD(S) supremo ruled out any tieup with the saffron party and asked Mr Mahesh to toe the party line. Mr Siddaramaiah directly spoke to his political mentor Mr Deve Gowda and struck the deal.
Accordingly, the Congress will hold the Mayor's post for two years and the last three years will go to the JD(S). This arrangement has come under fire from local JD(S) leaders who are said to be disappointed with the decision of their party bosses.
A senior JDS leader bemoaned that the JDS always had the upper hand in Mysuru and would have definitely got the mayor's post had they bargained better with the Congress.
He said Mr Siddaramaiah played the master stroke by dealing directly with Mr H.D. Deve Gowda and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
The Congress camp is upbeat after winning the mayor's post with JD(S) leaders, particularly Mr G.T. Deve Gowda and Mr Mahesh left disappointed.
