Ramanagar: After the Congress and Janata Dal (S) coalition suffered a humiliating defeat in the recent Lok Sabha elections by winning only one each seat, the state Congress leaders have begun blaming the coalition. MLC C M Lingappa from Congress too has opined that the Congress party would be extinct in the near future if the state coalition continued.
Speaking to media in the District Congress office on Saturday, May 25, he opined that it was better to end the coalition with the JDS citing that it would damage the image of Congress.
Reacting on the mandate, he said, “This was the worst performance ever by Congress and it has never seen defeat on such a massive scale. Our leaders must introspect and understand from this mandate that this coalition is not healthy for the existence of the party.”
Lingappa taunted the JDS and said that it had emerged financially stronger only after partnership with the Congress.
“JDS has spent Rs 150 Crore in Mandya, Rs 80 Crore and Rs 60 Crore in Tumakuru and Hassan Lok Saba constituencies, respectively. This shows that they have become financially stable and strong, only after coming in contact with the Congress”, he said,
He also slammed some of his own party leaders for “hunger for power” and opined that there was nothing wrong in Bharatiya Janata Party which had secured 105 Assembly seats to form the government, compared to JDS which grabbed the chief minister’s post despite winning only 37 seats.
Meanwhile, he also congratulated Mandya Lok Sabha independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh on her victory.
State coalition cabinet meeting on May 29
In order to introspect over the electoral loss, former chief minister and CLP leader Siddaramaiah has called for a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, May 29, at Hotel Ashoka in Bengaluru.
According to the coalition sources, the meeting which is expected to begin at 6 PM on that day, would discuss on keeping the MLAs and minister of the coalition safe from BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’ and also working on the aspects that failed during the election.
