Mysuru ministers may have to resign to save govt

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is contemplating reshuffling his cabinet by obtaining the resignations of some ministers and replacing them with dissident legislators. This a desperate move by the CM to protect the fall of the government.

Having said that, it seems that the Damocles Sword is hanging over the JD(S) ministers of the Mysuru region.

JD(S) leaders of the region feel that the CM may seek the resignation of the ministers of the region as most of them are loyal to the party and to himself said B Harshavardhan, Nanjangud MLA and son-in-law of MP-elect V Srinivas Prasad.

“As per the formula arrived by the leaders of the JD(S)-Congress coalition, the criteria to seek the resignation was loyalty. If the loyalty of the ministers is beyond question, there is no risk of rebellion. It is expected that Tourism Minister Sa Ra Mahesh, Minor Irrigation Minister C S Puttaraju and Transport Minister D C Thammanna will volunteer to resign,” he added.

The MLA said that the move was to reprimand the leaders of Mandya Lok Sabha constituency where Kumaraswamy’s son K Nikhil faced a humiliating defeat against Independent candidate A Sumalatha.

It is worth a mention here that under Mandya LS segment, there were eight MLAs, three MLCs and three ministers of the JD(S).

Challengers

Harshavardhan felt that to save the state government, ministers like Puttaraju and H D Revanna should stand by their word and retire from politics.

It may be recalled here that Revanna had stated that he would take ‘political sanyas’ if Narendra Modi was re-elected Prime Minister. Puttaraju also had challenged that he would retire from active politics if Nikhil does not win by a margin of over 2 lakh votes. Harshavardhan opined that if they do not keep their word, people would lose trust in them.

Revanna, GTD

It is learnt that the alliance government was in no mood to drop either PWD Minister H D Revanna and Higher Education Minister G T Devegowda.

“Revanna is former PM H D Deve Gowda’s favourite son. He ensured his son Prajwal’s victory in Hassan LS seat. G T Devegowda is Mysuru district strongman. He trounced former CM Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency in May 2018. Kumaraswamy needs a leader to counter Siddaramaiah in Mysuru region. They may be spared,” observed a JD(S) spokesperson.

The JD(S) may also use a ‘Corporation chairmanship’ to accommodate a disgruntled legislator. Chairman of D Devaraja Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation K Annadani may be asked to resign. He has invited Kumaraswamy’s wrath. It must be noted here that Nikhil’s vote share in Malavalli Assembly constituency represented by Annadani in the LS poll was not along expected lines.

Within Congress

In Congress, Chamarajanagar district in-charge minister C Puttarangashetty might be dropped. A KPCC member said that Puttarangashetty was a staunch Siddaramaiah follower and a loyal Congressman.

“He is a suspect in a case in which a large amount of cash was found at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. If he resigns to make way for others, it will benefit the government,” Harshavardan said.