Bengaluru: Former speaker Krishna, who contested as an independent from K.R. Pet Assembly constituency as he was denied a ticket by Janata Dal (S), is being pursued by leaders of Dal and Congress as they are keen to field him in next month’s bypoll to Mandya Lok Sabha constituency.
Sources in Congress told Deccan Chronicle that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his aides were trying to woo Krishna, though they were aware that housing minister M.H. Ambarish and his supporters were lobbying with senior central leaders to pit a candidate of their choice.
“Going by the calculations of Siddaramaiah’s camp, Krishna will be able to wrest the seat from Janata Dal (S) because of his clean image, and his ability to split the support base of Dal (S),” the sources added.
Meanwhile, a senior leader of JD (S) said the party was not averse to the idea of wooing Krishna back to its fold ahead of the bypoll on August 21.