While some of senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s supporters continued to push for his second term as Chief Minister, he tried to downplay the development.
Speaking to presspersons in Hubballi on Wednesday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that while the statements from his followers might have been made out of affection for him, the Chief Minister’s seat was “not vacant now” as per the coalition arrangement.
His statement gains significance in the light of the alleged attempt from within the Congress to bring back Mr. Siddaramaiah to a position of prominence, with his supporters, including Home Minister M.B. Patil stating on Tuesday that many want to see him as the Chief Minister again. Interestingly, on Wednesday, Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande too joined the bandwagon saying what was wrong in Mr. Siddaramaiah becoming the Chief Minister again.
While trying to downplay the development, Mr. Siddaramaiah, however, defended his followers saying there was nothing wrong in their statement as they were speaking out of affection and pride for him.
This is not the first time that Mr. Siddaramaiah’s close aides have been batting for him. Earlier too, several of his followers, including S.T. Somashekhar and the now disgruntled Ramesh Jarkiholi, issued statements declaring him as their leader.
Meanwhile, the meeting of JD(S) State president H. Vishwanath with former Minister and Congress leader Srinivas Prasad, who is now with the BJP, has given room for further speculations.