Vishwanath cosies up to Kharge, Siddu

BJP leaders had tried to convince him not to air his grievances in public but he neglected the diktats and continued his attacks. So, he was kept away from all party meetings and functions

Shyam Sundar Vattam I NT

Bengaluru: The ‘honeymoon’ of former minister and BJP MLC A.H.Vishwanath with the saffron party seems to be coming to an end if his meetings with newly-elected AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah in the last two days is any indication.

Eyebrows were raised when former MP Vishwanath met his political rival and bete noire, Siddaramaiah who has been advised four days bed rest for a minor ailment, in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The two Kuruba leaders were at loggerheads for a long time. Siddaramaiah had lashed out at his one-time associate Vishwanath after he resigned as MLA and joined the BJP.

After Vishwanath’s attempts to join the Council of Ministers failed on technical grounds, he became frustrated and started attacking his own party leaders in every press conference and public meeting. Earlier, BJP leaders had tried to convince him not to air his grievances in public but he neglected such diktats and continued his attacks.

So, he was kept away from all party meetings and functions. The BJP MLC had even mounted an attack on former CM B.S.Yediyurappa accusing him and his sons of being involved in corruption and had also slammed the failure of the incumbent CM, Basavaraj Bommai to give good governance.

Vishwanath’s charges against Mysuru-Kodagu Pratap Simha seem unstoppable as the duo engage in a wordy duel almost daily. With the tenure of the current BJP government set to end in five to six months, Vishwanath wants to secure his political future and is ready to go back to the Congress as early as possible.

Sources close to Siddaramaiah told News Trail that Vishwanath’s re-entry into the Congress Party is only a matter of time as everything has been fixed for his comeback.