Distancing himself from the statements of senior Congress leaders Shamanur Shivashankarappa and M.B. Patil in support of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, State Congress working president Saleem Ahmed on Tuesday said their statements were not that of the party. “Mr. Shivashankarappa has issued the statement in his capacity as the president of the All-India Veerashiva Mahasabha, while Mr. Patil has said in his personal capacity. Their statements are not of the Congress,” he said.
On Monday, Mr. Shivashankarappa, Congress MLA from Davangere South, met Mr. Yediyurappa and said the Veerashaiva community was firmly behind him. Any effort to dislodge him would not go well with the community.
Mr. Ahmed said the State BJP leaders were fighting among themselves to retain power. They are not focused on handling the pandemic and other pressing issues concerning the State.
“Mr. Yediyurappa has lost confidence of his partymen. The BJP government will be dissolved and Congress will come back to power in the ensuing Assembly elections,” he said.
Mr. Ahmed said Randeep Surjewala, the All-India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, will visit Mangaluru on July 23 during his six-day tour of Karnataka.
The visit was to strengthen the party organisation and prepare the cadre for the forthcoming elections to urban local bodies and by-elections to Hangal and Sindhagi Assembly constituencies.
Mr. Surjewala will arrive in Bengaluru on July 22 and hold a meeting with party activists. He will hold similar meeting in Mangaluru on July 23 with MLAs, MPs, former elected representatives, and other partymen from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, and Shivamogga districts.
On July 24, he will go to Tumakuru where he will meet partymen from Tumakury, Kolar, Chickballapur, Chitradurga, and Davangere. He will have a meeting in Haveri on July 29 with Haveri and Vijayapura district representatives and with those from Belagavi, Dharward, and six other districts in Hubballi on July 29.
His tour will conclude with meeting with party representatives in Mysuru on July 30. State party president D.K. Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will accompany him.
