The Hindu : Karnataka News : To join or not to join Congress is Anjaneya’s dilemma

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Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

To join or not to join Congress is Anjaneya’s dilemma

Firoz Rozindar

He is torn apart between well wishers on change in political loyalties

‘Mr. Anjaneya will have bright chances of joining the Cabinet if Congress wins polls’
Presence of strong leaders in JD(S) said to preclude possibility of dent if he quits

H. Anjaneya

Chitradurga: Although the former Home Minister M.P. Prakash has given strong indications of his joining the Congress along with his supporters, former Bharamasagar MLA H. Anjaneya, who is also a Prakash loyalist, seems to be unsure of his moves.

He seems to be in a fix on whether or not to join the Congress owing to political compulsions, or remain part of the Janata Dal (Secular) as wished by his supporters.

While a section of his colleagues, including MLC B.T. Channabasappa, the former Janata Dal (Secular) MLA S.K. Basavarajan and several zilla panchayat members do not find favour with his joining the Congress, another group of supporters from his constituency want him to do so. “Since he has held a position of responsibility in the district unit of the Janata Dal (Secular), I will not advise him to join the Congress. I want him be with us to strengthen the party,” said Mr. Chennabasappa. However, he said he would not object to his joining the Congress if he wished to do so.

Similar was the opinion of zilla panchayat members Ravikumar and Minakshi Nandish. They said a considerable number of members of the zilla panchayat did not want him to shift loyalties. “We have clearly stated that we want him to be with the Janata Dal (Secular), but eventually it is up to him to decide,” said Mr. Ravikumar.

The former administrator of the Murugharajendra Math S.K. Basavarajan also made it clear that he would not advise Mr. Anjaneya to join the Congress, particularly at this juncture when the Janata Dal (Secular) was “gaining ground in the district.”

Asked about the impact on the party in the event of him quitting, Mr. Basavarajan said it would not make much of a dent as the district still had senior leaders such as D. Manjunath.

Zilla panchayat member Arati Shivamurthy, however, favoured Mr. Anjaneya joining the Congress. She said that after the Janata Dal (Secular) had refused to transfer the reins of the administration to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the people had lost faith in the former. If the Congress were to win the elections, Mr. Anjaneya would have bright chances of making it to the Cabinet, she said.

Second session

When contacted, Mr. Anjaneya appeared confused over the right course of action. He said no decision could be taken in the coordination committee meeting held at his constituency on Monday.

“I will be holding a second session with the members to evaluate the consensus. A decision will, however, be taken in a week,” he said.

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