Sonia in K’taka, tries to win Lingayat goodwill
An expression of hope for the revival of the Congress’ prospects laced with plainspeak that senior leaders should put aside individual ambition and differences in the interest of the party marked Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s address to the state unit on Saturday, a day on which she also reached out to the Lingayat community through influential pontiffs.
Mrs Gandhi’s pep talk came after she felicitated the seer of Siddaganga math, Shivakumar Swami, and followed it up with a successful meeting with him. The math, frequented by Lingayat strongman and former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa and his supporters, however, did not witness a turnout by BJP leaders on Saturday. The local BJP MP, G.S. Basavaraj, stunned partymen by receiving Mrs Gandhi at the helipad and indicating his inclination to return to the Congress.
“Faced with a bleak future, the party managed to resurrect itself in 1978 after the successful victory of the late Indira Gandhi in the Chikmagalur byelection... And, this time, the party won a Lok Sabha bypoll. I hope this will herald the party’s revival,” Mrs Gandhi told partymen.
“I want everyone, including our leaders — UPA ministers from the state, KPCC president Dr G. Parasmeshwar and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah — to work together and bring the party to power.”
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