Sacked Minister's Warning: Congress Faces Whitewash in Tumakuru District

The statement has assumed significance in the backdrop of the ongoing leadership tussle within the state Congress. Tumakuru is the home district of Rajanna.

He made these remarks while attending a bike rally and Jan Sampark meeting in Madhugiri town of Tumakuru district on Wednesday. The video of his speech went viral on social media on Thursday.

He said, "In Tumakuru district, the Congress may face a whitewash situation. Only time will tell. In 2004, I contested from the JD(S) and became an MLA. Back then, I had joined JD(S) because the Congress party did not honour me. During that contest, we completely whitewashed the Congress party from the entire district."

"We finished off the Congress party then. I don't know whether that situation will arise again -- let's see what happens in the future. There are no permanent enemies or friends in politics. I saw the bike rally, and not a single supporter was holding the Congress flag. Why? Earlier, they used to carry and wave hundreds of flags. Not a single person carried the flag this time, and I was wondering why," he said.

"Let's see in the coming days which flag we will carry. The decision is yours, not mine. I don't want to say that I won't contest the next election," Rajanna added.

Sources within the Congress party reveal that Rajanna is upset with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for maintaining distance from him after unceremoniously dropping him from the cabinet.

In Tumakuru district, senior leaders such as Home Minister G. Parameshwara, the Chief Minister's Special Representative in New Delhi and seven-time MLA T.B. Jayachandra, and MLA H.D. Ranganath -- a close aide and relative of Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar -- have reportedly been unable to assuage Rajanna, as they themselves are lobbying for cabinet berths and key positions.

Sources close to Rajanna indicate that his remarks are a clear message to the party leadership -- either to reinstate him in the cabinet or to accommodate his son, Congress MLC R. Rajendra Rajanna.

Rajanna is considered a strong Scheduled Tribe (ST) leader in Karnataka with influence extending beyond his constituency. He had earlier taken on former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's family members and played a key role in Deve Gowda's defeat in the Lok Sabha election from the Tumakuru parliamentary seat. It is learned that both the BJP and JD(S) are keen to induct him into their parties.

Rajanna was earlier sacked from the cabinet for contradicting Rahul Gandhi's statement on the voter fraud issue. He had also openly challenged Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, saying that he was ready to take up the post of party president and demanding the creation of more deputy chief minister posts. He further stated that if there were a change in leadership in Karnataka, a Dalit leader should be chosen as the next chief minister.

- IANS