Repeated statements by some Congress leaders against the coalition government’s functioning and they viewing their leader Siddaramaiah as their “Chief Minister” by undermining the importance of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy could derail any seat-sharing arrangement with the Janata Dal (Secular) for the Lok Sabha elections or get the Congress a “better deal” if the talks go through, sources in the Congress said.
What has triggered a series of comments by the former Chief Minister’s loyalists, including by the former Minister H.C. Mahadevappa on Saturday, is lack of interest among Congress leaders and the party cadre in any seat-sharing arrangement, especially in south Karnataka, sources said.
“Party leaders from the region believe that if the Congress cedes seats to the JD(S), it will only help the latter. In the long run, our party might lose ground in south Karnataka,” Congress sources said. Not only would the party lose its position to the JD(S), sources believe that a seat-sharing arrangement would allow the BJP to increase its vote share from the region.