The Congress will be destroyed if Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is made to resign as AHINDA voters will move away from the party, independent MLC Lakhan Jarkiholi said in Gokak on Wednesday.
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“If the party high command forces Siddaramaiah to resign from his Chief Minister post to make way for another leader, the Congress in the State will be decimated. AHINDA voters, who are the lifeblood of the party, will move away. Congress leadership should realise that the votes of these communities are the main reason for the Congress to win in 2013 and 2023. Mr. Siddaramaiah is the only mass leader left in the Congress who can hold these votes together. If Siddaramaiah resigns from the post of Chief Minister in the backdrop of the current political developments, it will be an irreparable loss for the Congress,” he told reporters.
“If Mr. Siddaramaiah does not remain at the helm of affairs, the Congress will have to fight hard to retain even 40 seats in 2028,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress MLAs Vishwas Vaidya and Asif (Raju) Sait have expressed their support to the demand that Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi be made the next Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president.
In different press conferences, the two leaders told reporters that they felt that it will be good for the party to have a skilled organiser like Satish Jarkiholi to lead the party. They, however, clarified that they will abide by the party high command’s decision.
“Satish Jarkiholi is the most senior, experienced and influential leader of the party. In the current political situation, if he is given the KPCC leadership, the party organization will grow stronger,” Mr. Vaidya said.
He said that he has no idea about the party high command calling for a meeting of senior leaders or Congress Legislature Party meeting on Thursday.
“I have no official information about this meeting. I am yet to get an invitation for the meeting,” the MLA said.
Mr. Sait said that if Satish Jarkiholi took over as the KPCC president, the party organization will get further momentum.
“He has experience in strengthening the party from the grassroots. He also has the support of a large number of legislators,” Mr. Sait said.