Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who was reportedly huddled with Congress party leaders and his close confidants on Tuesday when his long-time associate and another Kuruba leader, H. Vishwanath joined the JD (S), seems to have decided to fight Mr Vishwanath in public in the near future. The former Mysuru MP belongs to the same district-Mysuru- as Mr Siddaramaiah.
Sources close to him told Deccan Chronicle that Mr Siddaramaiah was 'rattled' over this development. The result? The chief minister, who was to preside over two meetings planned for Tuesday morning, cancelled both meetings. Then, he was huddled with party leaders and his close confidants to discuss how to salvage the situation in the Cauvery basin though Mr Vishwanath is no match for the chief minister when it comes to attracting voters.
His confidants consoled him saying Mr Vishwanath had joined the JD (S) and not the BJP. "His two close friends V. Srinivas Prasad(former Union minister who had joined the BJP recently) and Mr Vishwanath had joined two different parties so, to that extent, the situation is not so bad. We have enough time to retrieve the situation," sources said.
Now, the Congress party which has planned a rally in Mysuru region, similar to the one held recently at Koodalasangama to woo the Lingayat community, will target Mr Vishwanath where the latter would be exposed.
"We know very well that in the last five or six years, Mr Vishwanath has been constantly targeting the Deve Gowda family. This would be highlighted with evidence to silence him," sources explained.
Mr Vishwanath had joined the JD(S) recently in the presence of party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and his son H.D. Kumaraswamy.
