Bengaluru: A day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a rally in the temple town of Nanjangud to keep the morale of party workers high following the resignation of veteran leader, Srinivas Prasad both from the Congress and as MLA of the constituency, two of his loyal supporters, including the block Congress unit president, were shown the door for skipping the event.
More such action is likely against Mr Prasad’s supporters in the constituency, according to party sources. With a number of elected representatives of the Congress boycotting the rally in a show of loyalty to the senior Dalit leader, the party reportedly wants to send a clear message to them that they too could be expelled from the party for such defiance.
Meanwhile, going by sources close to Mr Prasad he plans to flex his muscles and take the Chief Minister head-on by holding a huge convention of his own in Nanjangud after Diwali,
Although he had earlier announced that he would not contest the 2018 Assembly polls due to his advancing age, his unceremonious exit from the state Cabinet appears to have changed his mind and his only motto now seems to be to show Mr Siddaramaiah that he is still a force to reckon with in Nanjangud constituency.
Most of his supporters are, however, in a dilemma presently as he has not yet spoken of his future plans. Many of them are against him joining the BJP on ideological grounds and are not in favour of the Janata Dal (Secular) either as it has lost ground in this part of Mysuru district owing to dissension in its ranks. The best option, according to them, is for Mr Prasad to contest the Nanjangud bypoll as an independent with the outside support of both the BJP and JD(S) to defeat the Congress.
Public Works Minister and T Narasipur MLA, Dr H.C. Mahadevappa, has hinted at the possibility of his son, Subhas Bose being fielded by the Congress in Nanjangud.
