K’taka Cong Chief meets MLC C M Ibrahim after Kumaraswamy invites him to join JD(S)

Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar met senior leader and MLC C M Ibrahim and requested him not to leave the party, amid a bid by JD(S) to rope him back into its fold, party sources said.

During the visit to Ibrahim’s residence on Saturday night, the KPCC President tried to convince him not to quit Congress to join the JD(S), they said. Both leaders are said to have discussed developments within the party and political happenings in the state.

JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy had on December 7 met Ibrahim and invited him to return to the party fold. Following this Ibrahim had said that he was yet to take any decision on quitting Congress and would arrive at a conclusion only after meeting his supporters and well-wishers.

Ibrahim, a former Union Minister and a one-time close associate of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, had joined Congress in 2008. He was seen as one among the close confidants of Siddaramaiah.

According to sources, Ibrahim has been sulking for some time now, upset with the party, especially Siddaramaiah after he was not considered for the post of Leader of Opposition in the legislative Council, the position currently occupied by S R Patil, who is also considered to be close to the former Chief Minister. Ibrahim had left JD(S) after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

He was also associated with “AHINDA” (a social movement forged by minorities, backwards and dalits) in Karnataka led by Siddaramaiah before both joined the Congress.