Bengaluru: Upset over the fall of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government headed by his son, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in just 14 months, JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda is silently working out a plan to defeat the rebel legislators in case by-elections became necessary, with or without the support of the coalition partner, Congress.
Party sources told Deccan Chronicle that Mr Gowda is seething with anger against the rebel Congress and JD(S) lawmakers and has been holding a series of meetings with his party legislators and office-bearers to draw up a ‘chakravyuha’ to ensure the defeat of the rebels.
He had hoped that his son would be allowed to continue for at least another one or two years but the rebels, with the tacit understanding of the BJP, toppled the coalition government even before his son could waive crop loans worth Rs 45,000 crore which would have benefited around 23 lakh farmers. Sources said Mr Gowda had asked his party leaders to find suitable candidates in Yesvanthpur, Mahalakshmi Layout, Raja Rajeshwari Nagar, K R Puram-all in Bengaluru city, K R Pete in Mandya district and Hunsur in Mysuru district to defeat the rebels if they fight the polls again.
The former prime minister is said to be using his rich political experience spanning over six decades to defeat the rebels at any cost to avenge his son losing the chief minister’s post. The caretaker CM is regularly meeting his father to update him on the latest developments in the BJP and rebel MLAs' camp, said sources.
Sources said that though Mr Gowda wants to teach the rebels a lesson, the Congress may not back the JD(S) in this endeavour as they are quite sure the rebels will return to the party fold once their 'honeymoon' with the BJP ends. A majority of Congress legislators are of the opinion that they suffered a lot in the last 14 months after forming the coalition with the JD(S) and wanted to sever ties with the regional party.
They are learnt to have told CLP leader Siddaramaiah that even if the BJP forms the government with the help of the rebels, it is not going to last long. These legislators feel that it is better to play the role of opposition party in the Assembly for now as the mid-term polls may be held anytime, said a Congress leader on the condition of anonymity, explaining why the Congress may not back the Janata Dal (Secular) plan to teach the rebels a lesson.
