Disappointed Siddu seeks ouster of GTD, SaRa Mahesh fron state cabinet

Bengaluru: Disappointed with Minister GT Devegowda remarks that JD(S)’ workers in Mysuru and elsewhere might have voted for the BJP, former Chief Minister (CM) Siddaramaiah urged incumbent CM HD Kumaraswamy to remove him from the state cabinet with immediate effect.

In a telephonic conversation held with Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah is believed to have said that the coalition between the two parties would end if Mysuru Congress candidate were to lose the election.

Apart from GT Devegowda, Sidd also sought the removal of Tourism Minister Sa Ra Mahesh from the Cabinet.

During the recent polls, the rift between the two parties was evident. In Mandya where Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy has contested, some Congress and JD(S) workers are reported to have worked in favour of independent candidate Sumalatha, an actress and widow of popular Kannada film actor-turned-politician, Ambareesh.

Sumalatha got the backing of BJP which did not field any candidate.

H D Deve Gowda’s another grandson Prajwal Revanna, son of PWD minister H D Revanna, too faced a similar challenge in Hassan from where he was in a direct fight against the BJP’s A Manju.

According to JD(S) sources, in Tumakuru too, Deve Gowda had to face a similar rebellion of Congress workers.

As a tit-for-tat, JD(S) workers openly defied working for the Congress in Mysuru and announced in the presence of G T Deve Gowda that they would vote for the BJP rather than Vijay Shankar.

Meanwhile, BJP leader S M Krishna, a former Congress leader, who was Karnataka chief minister, claimed Wednesday that a major change was in the offing in the state after the Lok Sabha elections.