Within hours of an upset defeat of one of the four Congress candidates in polls to the Legislative Council, prominent Lingayat legislators and leaders took a decision to project former treasurer Shamanur Shivashankarappa as their nominee for the position of president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), here on Monday.
At a meeting held in Mr Shivashankarappa’s residence, they decided to head to New Delhi to impress upon Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders the need to appoint a Lingayat as the head of KPCC ahead of next year’s polls to the Legislative Assembly. Former KPCC chiefs, Mr Allum Veerabhadrappa and Mr V S Koujalagi, former Union minister M V Rajashekharan, former ministers Dr A B Malaka Raddi, Mrs Rani Satish, and all Lingayat legislators attended the meeting.
Mr Shivashankarappa said if elected as KPCC president, he would ensure the victory of 150 Congress candidates as well as 22-25 MPs. “The Veerashaiva leaders in the party are aspiring for this and if the high command gives me the responsibility, I will prove that I can do it,’’ he added. Mr B.C. Patil said Lingayats in Congress felt that they were sidelined. Being a major community, its members should be given their due. Besides, it was opportune moment to make the most of disillusionment of Lingayats with the ruling BJP, he added.
During the meeting, most of the leaders felt that the Congress had not exploited the potential of Lingayats after the late chief minister Mr Veerendra Patil’s tenure. If the Congress makes proper moves and appoints a Lingayat as president of the KPCC, the party could bounce back to power. When asked about other options in case the party leaders declined to appoint a Lingayat as KPCC president, Mr Patil said they would make a sincere effort to get their due. “Only crying babies get milk. Unless we meet the party high command, our demands will not be met,’’ Mr Patil added.