KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao meets Mandya party leaders over their dinner with rival candidate
Bengaluru, May 3: Karnataka Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao Friday summoned party leaders fromMandya, who recently held a meeting with independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, amid speculation that they worked against the coalition candidate in the Lok Sabha polls.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil from JD(S) was the ruling coalition's joint candidate from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency.
According to party sources, former Ministers N Cheluvarayaswamy and P M Narendraswamy said during the meeting that as per the directions of the Congress, they had nowhere openly expressed support for Sumalatha or campaigned for her.
Alleging they were being targeted, as JD(S)' plan was to weaken the Congress in Mandya, they also reportedly complained of Kumaraswamy's possible involvement in CCTV footage release about the dinner meeting to the media, by influencing police.
There are also reports about the Chief Minister complaining to AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal about the conduct of local Congress leaders.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rao downplayed the incident, saying the party could take it seriously if it was a political event, a programme with political intent or any talk of political support.
"They told me they were invited for dinner by someone, so they had gone there.
Just because of having food with someone, we cannot call it an anti-party activity.
If it was a political event or a programme with political intent or any talk of political support, we can take it seriously," he said.
A video of some Congress leaders, including former Ministers N Cheluvarayaswamy and P M Narendraswamy, former legislator H C Balakrishna, Ravi Ganiga and Malavalli Shivanna at a dinner reportedly hosted by Sumalatha at a private hotel on Tuesday, had surfaced on Wednesday.
The video gave rise to speculation that these leaders had worked in favour of Sumalatha during the Lok Sabha polls.
Cheluvarayaswamy said the dinner video that appeared in the media was discussed at the meeting with Rao and clarified they had attended the dinner as it was hosted by a friend, who was also known to Sumalatha and that's why she had come there.
"This meeting or dinner party has taken place after the election, so it has no importance. I don't know whether you (media) gave importance to it or someone insisted on giving importance to it."
Expressing doubts about the video of a private dinner party getting released to the media, Cheluvarayaswamy suspected that police might have been influenced to get the video from the hotel where the party took place.
Congress leaders from Mandya had stayed away from campaigning for Nikhil, citing Kumaraswamy himself not seeking their support as one of the reasons.
Many of them had even extended support to Sumalatha, widow of actor-turned politician M H Ambareesh, through their supporters, who actively participated in her campaigning with Congress flags.
Meanwhile, Cheluvarayaswamy's close friend andCongress Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, who was earlier with JD(S), defended the dinner meeting and said there was nothing wrong in it.
He pointed out that the dinner meeting did not take place during the elections and added that Cheluvarayaswamy and others were nowhere seen with Sumalatha during campaigning.
Khan also noted that Kumaraswamy should have spoken to local Congress leaders and taken them into confidence, ahead of election.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
