Meet CM Siddaramaiah's secret weapons for Bengaluru
- Three first-time MLAs are said to have become major players in the Congress.
- The secret of their success - their ability to bring over rival party members.
- CM Siddaramaiah is said to be depending on them to capture Bengaluru.
FollowThey might be an ordinary MLAs in their respective constituencies, but according to sources, these three MLAs are CM Siddaramaiah's master cards for his dream of turning Bengaluru into a Congress bastion. Siddaramaiah has high hopes for them.Â
Interestingly all three are first-time MLAs.Â
Just like how real estate giant Donald Trump edged Hilary Clinton to become the President of America, Bengaluru's real estate giants and contractors have also successfully transitioned into political careers, becoming MLAs from different parts of the city.Â
Byrathi Basavaraj from KR Puram, ST Somashehkar from Yeshwantpur and Munirathna Naidu from RR Nagar assembly are now considered as 'powerful' leaders, all thanks to them being seen as 'confidantes' of the CM.
The CM is so impressed with them thanks to their unique skill - bringing leaders from the BJP and the JDS over to the Congress. Trusting in that skill, sources said that the CM had assigned the task of capturing Bengaluru City Corporation to these leaders, despite the Congress winning a minority of seats in the Corporation in 2015.Â
At present in the Bengaluru Corporation, out of 29 seats, 14 are ruled by the Congress, 12 by BJP and 3 seats are with the JDS. It is said the three JDS leaders are already in talks with the Congress to switch sides in the next elections. These leaders are heavily influenced by the big three Congress MLAs.Â
The secret of the skill is not very hard to fathom. These MLAs reportedly made their fortunes thanks to the IT boom in the early 2000s, when real estate prices skyrocketed. As real estate agents, builders and contractors, these men found they have plenty of money - not only to contest elections by themselves but also to fund the elections of others.Â
Will all of this trust pan out? One has to wait for the elections to find out. The BJP, incidentally, is firm in its opinion.Â
"All the three leaders are filthy rich, and the CM is dependent on their money. They can buy leaders from other parties overnight with their money," said NR Ramesh, a BJP spokesperson from Bengaluru.
