There have been rumours in Bengaluru’s political circles that a few BJP MLAs will defect to the Congress side in the near future. Given that both the Lok Sabha and the BBMP, the civic body for Bengaluru, are scheduled for elections in the coming months, the ruling Congress is reportedly pleased about these prospects.
These were allegedly among the Congress MLAs who changed sides in 2019, causing the JD(S)-Congress coalition government that was in place at the time to fall. However, there are signs that Congress would only permit the “homecoming” of these “turncoats” gradually, according to party sources.
The recent comments made by S T Somashekar, a BJP lawmaker from the Yeshwanthpur district, sparked a buzz. Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Bengaluru Development D K Shivakumar had the former minister of cooperation with him when they inspected the KempeGowda Layout in the city a few days prior. Somashekar had praised Shivakumar as his “guru” and someone who had helped him “grow in the cooperative sector” during his speech at the occasion. In addition to Somashekar, 14 MLAs from the Congress party and three from the JD(S) left the coalition government in 2019. Among those who are likely to join the Congress fold are these legislators: Somashekar, Shivaram Hebbar, Byrathi Basavaraju, and K Gopalaiah, according to sources within the Congress.
Sources claim that these MLAs have discussed a potential return to the Congress with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who also serves as president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Home Minister G Parameshwar responded to these developments by stating that those willing to rejoin the Congress had previously worked for the organization. “When I was the KPCC president, Somashekar was the Congress’ district president for Bengaluru Urban.