Taking moral responsibility for the party’s poor show in the polls in North Karnataka, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president for the region S.R. Patil has resigned.
While party sources said that he was miffed at the way he was treated within the party after elections, Mr. Patil, in his resignation letter on May 25, cited the party’s poor performance as the reason. Incidentally, Mr. Patil is one of the strong contenders for a Cabinet berth, which is yet to be finalised by the Congress high command.
Mr. Patil, a former Minister and an MLC, who reportedly submitted his resignation to party president Rahul Gandhi through e-mail, told reporters on Sunday that he has taken full responsibility for the party’s poor performance in North Karnataka. He said that he tried his best to campaign for the party in all places where he was given responsibility and yet the party did not win the expected number of seats.
However, according to sources in the party, Mr. Patil, who is seen in the close circle of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was unhappy over the way he was treated post elections by some senior leaders. He had even expressed his feelings with close aides that he being a senior leader in the region had not been taken into confidence and felt neglected.
Also, some Lingayat leaders in North Karnataka have openly expressed their opposition to the move towards his induction into the Cabinet. Earlier, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, who lost in the elections from Hungund constituency in Bagalkot, threatened to stage a dharna in front of the party office if Mr. Patil was inducted to the Cabinet. He had accused Mr. Patil of not helping the Congress candidates in the run-up to the polls.
According to a senior Congress leader, Mr. Patil’s entry into the Cabinet cannot be taken for granted in the prevailing political circumstance and owing to the coalition pressure. “Most Cabinet berths are likely to be given to MLAs and being a MLC has reduced the bargaining power for Mr. Patil.”