Some AHINDA leaders have opposed the Congress high command’s decision to ask Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resign saying that it can upset the voters of the various deprived communities.

Lakhan Jarkiholi, independent member of the Legislative Council, said that the Congress government might fall if Mr. Siddaramaiah is replaced by another leader.

“A lot of legislators may not support the Congress high command’s move and the government may fall,” he told reporters in Gokak on Thursday.

“Earlier, the Congress suffered greatly when Veerendra Patil was removed from the Chief Minister’s chair, as the Lingayats moved away from the Congress and started leaning towards the BJP. This is more likely in the case of Mr. Siddaramaiah as he is not just the leader of a single community but a bunch of communities under the AHINDA umbrella. By asking such a leader to step down, I think the Congress high command has put its hand in a beehive,” he said.

Lakhan Jarkiholi, who is the younger brother of Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, said that Congress leaders have forgotten that Mr. Siddaramaiah was not only a mass leader but also an able administrator.

“As Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah managed the State’s economic situation without any problem for three years. Despite the Union government withholding resources meant for Karnataka for several years, Mr. Siddaramaiah managed to gather necessary resources to fund all the five guarantees. The Congress high command should realise that the guarantee schemes will definitely stop if Mr. Siddaramaiah does not remain the Chief Minister. If such a great leader is treated unfairly, there is no doubt that the Congress government will be overthrown,” he said.

“If the Congress high command makes the AHINDA communities shed tears today, it will suffer electoral upsets later. The number of Congress MLAs will be reduced to 40 in 2028,” he said.

“All this is happening only because the high command does not have proper understanding of Karnataka or its political environment. Neither does the high command leaders understand Kannada nor do the leaders in charge of the region like K.C. Venugopal or Randeep Singh Surjewala know Kannada. These leaders do not seem to know any city or town in the State except Bengaluru. The high command relies on the inputs provided by such leaders who are far removed from ground realities,” Lakhan Jarkiholi said.

AHINDA leader and general secretary of the Vijayapura Kuruba Sangha Basavaraj Katral told reporters in Vijayapura that the decision to replace Mr. Siddaramaiah will affect the party’s political prospects in future.

Mr. Siddaramaiah has been a friend of the poor who took bold decisions and implemented several popular schemes like the guarantee schemes and free foodgrains for the poor. Public interest was behind all his decisions, he added.

He worked hard to unite all sections of society and build a hunger-free Karnataka. It is very painful that a leader who upheld social justice is being removed from the post of Chief Minister. The Congress high command should change its stance and continue Mr. Siddaramaiah in the post, otherwise AHINDA voters will reject the Congress in the next elections,” he said.

“Siddaramaiah is a ray of hope for the AHINDA class. Such a great leader who worked for the upliftment of the downtrodden should not be removed from the post of Chief Minister before the end of his term,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, Backward Classes Federation leader K.M. Ramachandrappa cautioned that the AHINDA classes will have to rethink their support for the Congress if Mr. Siddaramaiah is forced to resign.

In Yadgir, Bhimu Pujri, a follower of Mr. Siddaramaiah, tried to consume poison during a demonstration at the town’s Subhas Circle. The police rescued him.