04-03-2005, 10:30 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>Krishna's comeback politics</b>
P T Bopanna/ Bangalore
The political temperature in the Garden City is heating up, with the supporters of <b>former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna making moves to dislodge Chief Minister Dharam Singh</b>.
Highly placed Congress sources said Mr Krishna, currently the Governor of Maharashtra, <b>has been in touch with Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel to "return to active politics</b>".
The sources noted that the Krishna camp had complained to the high command that with Mr Dharam Singh in the saddle, there was no future for the Congress in the State as the Chief Minister was a puppet in the hands of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
They said <b>Mr Gowda was calling the shots in Karnataka's coalition politics</b>.
Mr Krishna's Man Friday D K Shivakumar, a former minister who is in charge of the operation to remove Dharam Singh and replace him with his boss, had kicked up a row at a recent meeting of the Congress Legislature Party. He alleged that the ministers belonging to <b>Janata Dal (Secular</b>), <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â especially Mr Deve Gowda's son and Public Works and Energy Minister Revanna was holding up the files of Congress leaders.
<b>The former Prime Minister and Mr Shivakumar, both Vokkaligas, are having a running feud</b>, with Mr Gowda using his clout to torpedo the financial deals of Mr Shivakumar.
With Mr Krishna having the backing of a majority of Congress MLAs, Mr <b>Shivakumar is reportedly using arm-twisting tactics to get his files cleared by the Chief Minister, who is said to be in mortal fear of Mr Shivakumar</b>. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
A senior Congress leader, close to the Chief Minister, said: <b>"The Krishna camp has enormous money power and interests in vast tracts of prime property in and around Bangalore. They feel that with Mr Dharam Singh at the helm, they will not be in a position to safeguard their interests and, hence, they want to dislodge the Chief Minister."</b>Â <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Congress sources said the Krishna camp was using Ahmed Patel to persuade Sonia Gandhi to replace the Chief Minister with Mr Krishna.</b>
However, the sources felt there was opposition to the move from two other senior Congress leaders close to the Congress president.
Both Union Minister Oscar Fernandes and general secretary in-charge of Karnataka A K Antony are said to be against any move to bring back Mr Krishna. They argue Mr Krishna was responsible for the party's rout in the last election.
It is said both these senior leaders were in favour of installing <b>Union Minister of State for Planning M V Rajashekaran in the event of Mr Dharam Singh being asked to step down</b>.
Sources said <b>the party was keen to woo back the Lingayats who had deserted the party and joined the BJP in the recent years.</b> By installing Mr Rajashekaran, a Lingayat known for his clean image, the party hopes to shore up its support base.
The induction of former Chief Minister S Bangarappa as president of the Samajawadi Party in Karnataka has come as a blow to the Congress.
<b>The re-launched Samajawadi Party in the State is likely to make inroads into the traditional vote banks of the Congress like the Muslims, OBCs and the Dalits</b>.
<b>"Unless we can regain the support of the Lingayats, Congress in the State will be hit hard in the mid-term elections which is certain by next year because of the irreconcilable differences between the coalition partners in the Government," </b>a senior Congress leader remarked.
With Mr Krishna feeling increasingly suffocating in Mumbai Raj Bhavan, it is going to be a steamy summer for Mr Dharam Singh in his Vidhana Soudha chambers in Bangalore.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
P T Bopanna/ Bangalore
The political temperature in the Garden City is heating up, with the supporters of <b>former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna making moves to dislodge Chief Minister Dharam Singh</b>.
Highly placed Congress sources said Mr Krishna, currently the Governor of Maharashtra, <b>has been in touch with Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel to "return to active politics</b>".
The sources noted that the Krishna camp had complained to the high command that with Mr Dharam Singh in the saddle, there was no future for the Congress in the State as the Chief Minister was a puppet in the hands of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
They said <b>Mr Gowda was calling the shots in Karnataka's coalition politics</b>.
Mr Krishna's Man Friday D K Shivakumar, a former minister who is in charge of the operation to remove Dharam Singh and replace him with his boss, had kicked up a row at a recent meeting of the Congress Legislature Party. He alleged that the ministers belonging to <b>Janata Dal (Secular</b>), <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â especially Mr Deve Gowda's son and Public Works and Energy Minister Revanna was holding up the files of Congress leaders.<b>The former Prime Minister and Mr Shivakumar, both Vokkaligas, are having a running feud</b>, with Mr Gowda using his clout to torpedo the financial deals of Mr Shivakumar.
With Mr Krishna having the backing of a majority of Congress MLAs, Mr <b>Shivakumar is reportedly using arm-twisting tactics to get his files cleared by the Chief Minister, who is said to be in mortal fear of Mr Shivakumar</b>. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
A senior Congress leader, close to the Chief Minister, said: <b>"The Krishna camp has enormous money power and interests in vast tracts of prime property in and around Bangalore. They feel that with Mr Dharam Singh at the helm, they will not be in a position to safeguard their interests and, hence, they want to dislodge the Chief Minister."</b>Â <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Congress sources said the Krishna camp was using Ahmed Patel to persuade Sonia Gandhi to replace the Chief Minister with Mr Krishna.</b>
However, the sources felt there was opposition to the move from two other senior Congress leaders close to the Congress president.
Both Union Minister Oscar Fernandes and general secretary in-charge of Karnataka A K Antony are said to be against any move to bring back Mr Krishna. They argue Mr Krishna was responsible for the party's rout in the last election.
It is said both these senior leaders were in favour of installing <b>Union Minister of State for Planning M V Rajashekaran in the event of Mr Dharam Singh being asked to step down</b>.
Sources said <b>the party was keen to woo back the Lingayats who had deserted the party and joined the BJP in the recent years.</b> By installing Mr Rajashekaran, a Lingayat known for his clean image, the party hopes to shore up its support base.
The induction of former Chief Minister S Bangarappa as president of the Samajawadi Party in Karnataka has come as a blow to the Congress.
<b>The re-launched Samajawadi Party in the State is likely to make inroads into the traditional vote banks of the Congress like the Muslims, OBCs and the Dalits</b>.
<b>"Unless we can regain the support of the Lingayats, Congress in the State will be hit hard in the mid-term elections which is certain by next year because of the irreconcilable differences between the coalition partners in the Government," </b>a senior Congress leader remarked.
With Mr Krishna feeling increasingly suffocating in Mumbai Raj Bhavan, it is going to be a steamy summer for Mr Dharam Singh in his Vidhana Soudha chambers in Bangalore.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->