KPCC Media Photo
The Congress’ ‘Operation Hasta’ seems to be in full swing with senior JD(S) leader Ayanur Manjunath joining the party on Thursday, amid speculation that more will be on-boarded in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also Karnataka Congress president, asked his party colleagues and cadre to rope in more people, including at district-level, and increase the party’s voter base.
Manjunath, who quit the BJP earlier this year and joined the JD(S) ahead of the Assembly polls, said he would work towards strengthening the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls.
“We welcome anyone who wants to join the party,” Shivakumar said and added that the Congress need not “buy” anyone, an apparent dig at the BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’.
The DCM also asked his party leaders to bring to his notice any leader, including controversial, who puts too many conditions to join the party. The Congress does not need “big leaders” and is looking for party cadre, he added.
Shivakumar’s statement comes amid speculation that former BJP ministers S T Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar could return to the Congress fold. They had defected during the 2019 political crisis.
The Congress will not promise any posts to leaders seeking to join the party, Shivakumar said. The Congress is not a “hop on, hop off” bus for people to come and go.
“Only those who serve the party in the long term will be respected,” he said.
Along with Manjunath, Nagaraj Gowda from Shikaripura joined the Congress.
After being denied the ticket, Gowda contested from Shikaripura as an Independent and lost, but not before polling over 70,000 votes against BJP’s B Y Vijayendra.
Meanwhile, Mulbagal JD(S) MLA Samruddhi Manjunath claimed that the Congress was trying to poach him.
He got a call to go to New Delhi, but he was not in the country at that juncture, he said.
“Perhaps, the Congress high command has given the party leaders a target of winning at least 20 seats in the Lok Sabha polls and may be they’re acting out of insecurity that their party leaders may be poached. Such efforts to mislead the MLAs will not work,” he said, adding that the JD(S) leaders would soon meet to take all MLAs into confidence.