'Ghar wapsi' for Congress rebel legislators ahead of Karnataka polls?

The turncoats are now worried about their political future in BJP. Some are apprehensive of not getting tickets this time while others are finding it difficult to align with the saffron party's ideology.

With elections to the Karnataka Assembly knocking on the door, speculation is rife that the opposition Congress is mulling 'ghar wapsi' of most of the 17 rebel MLAs who deserted the grand-old party and joined the BJP to help B.S. Yediyurappa form government in 2019.

Former JDS legislator A H Vishwanath, who was at the forefront of rebellion while 'Operation Lotus' was carried out in Karnataka by the ruling BJP, is expected to persuade the turncoats to return to the Congress fold ahead of the elections.

Vishwanath, who was in the Congress for nearly four decades, joined JDS in 2017 and became an MLA from the Hunsuru constituency. He was named the JDS State president. He, however, quit his MLA post and helped the BJP in 'Operation Lotus' to topple the H.D. Kumaraswamy government.

Later, he was made a member of the Legislative Council, despite losing the by-poll from Hunsuru. The veteran politician has now expressed his desire to re-join Congress.

Ahead of polls, focus back on rebel MLAs

Recently, Karnataka Congress chief D.K. Shiva Kumar claimed that Vishwanath had met him on 2-3 occasions and expressed his desire to return to the Congress. Other rebel leaders, who became ministers in the BJP government, too are in touch with Congress and waiting for the Election Commission to announce the election date to take the next step, he added.

It may be recalled that M.T.B. Nagaraju, a rebel MLA, had said that the biggest blunder committed by him was joining the BJP by quitting the Congress in 2019. After joining the saffron party, he contested from Hosakote seat but lost to Sharath Bachegowda, an Independent candidate.

The 17 legislators who joined BJP at that time are: Nagaraj (Hoskote), Pratap Gouda Patil (Maski), Shivram Hebbar (Yellapur), Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram), ST Somashekhar (Yeshwantpur), B.C. Patil (Hirekerur), Munirathna (Rajarajeshwarinagar), Mahesh Kumathalli (Athani), Anand B. Singh (Vijayanagar), Roshan Baig (Shivajinagar) and K. Sudhakar (Chikkaballapur) from the Congress; Narayana Gowda (Krishnarajapet), K. Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout) and A.H. Viswanath (Hunsur) from JDS; and Independents R. Shankar (Ranebennur) and H. Nagesh (Mulbagal).

Why they want to return to Congress

The rebel MLAs, who switched over to the BJP camp in 2019, are now worried about their political future in the saffron party. Some have expressed apprehension about getting tickets for the upcoming Assembly elections while others have been finding it difficult to align with BJP's ideology.

On the other hand, the BJP is planning to give a chance to some new faces this time while there is a strong possibility that the turncoats will be asked to contest from constituencies other than where they have been contesting till now. The rebel leaders are apprehensive that leaving their home constituency and contesting from a new seat, banking only on the BJP wave, may backfire.

Simanth Patil and Mahesh Kumatalli are worried about not being given ministerial portfolios and have reportedly sent feelers to the Congress to rejoin the party. However, the BJP has also devised a strategy to stop the Congress' move and is trying to make those legislators feel safe in its fold.

There were reports that actor Jaggesh will be given tickets from Yeshwavanthpur constituency, from where rebel leader S.T. Somashekhar won. However, the BJP placated the issue by making Jaggesh a member of the Rajya Sabha.

The party has also tried to woo Byrathi Basavaraju, currently the Minister of Urban Development who was upset over the candidature of BJP leader Nandish Reddy in his constituency Krishnarajapuram, by appointing him as the State vice-president of the party.

The Congress is leaving no stone unturned to return to power after a long gap. The party is aiming to strengthen itself in the Old Mysuru region, while a special focus is on Bengaluru, which has 28 Assembly constituencies.

Notably, leaders like Munirathna, Somashekhar and Basavaraju have a huge following in their respective constituencies and can win the election on their own. Congress is eyeing such leaders with winnability being the main factor.