Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on former Minister and incumbent BJP MP Srinivas Prasad at the latter’s residence in Mysuru on Saturday, sparking political speculations ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The two leaders were daggers drawn at each other since 2016 when Mr. Prasad was dropped from the then Cabinet of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah forcing the veteran Dalit leader to join the BJP.
The two leaders were meeting each other not only after a gap of almost eight years, but also after Mr. Prasad announced his retirement from active politics.
Speaking to reporters after emerging from Mr. Prasad’s house, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he and Mr. Prasad were long-time political friends, but he had joined the BJP. He said he came to speak to him after his retirement from politics and inquire about his health.
Responding to questions, Mr. Siddaramaiah said politics was not discussed during the meeting as Mr. Prasad had already declared that he would not join any political party or attend any political campaign or meeting. Though there was no point in discussing politics after his announcement, Mr. Siddaramaiah said he had appealed to the Dalit leader to have sympathy for the Congress party as he had spent a long time of political career in the Congress party.
Meanwhile, Mr. Prasad, while interacting with reporters after meeting Mr. Siddaramaiah, expressed happiness over the Chief Minister’s courtesy call to inquire his well-being.
When asked if the meeting marks the end of his acrimony with the Chief Minister, Mr. Prasad said the question of him opposing or supporting does not arise as he had quit active politics.
With regard to his past statements against Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Prasad attributed them to his and Mr. Siddaramaiah’s presence in rival political parties. “Is it possible to praise one another when we are in rival parties?,” he said before adding that there was no enmity between them.
However, he said that he had informed Mr. Siddaramaiah that the situation was favourable for the Congress party in Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha segment in the coming elections.
Mr. Prasad ruled out the possibility of him attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meeting in Mysuru on Sunday.
Responding to questions, Mr. Prasad said he was not invited to attend Mr. Modi’s public meeting in Mysuru. “Neither has the invitation come nor will it come,” he said before making it clear that he was not attending the Prime Minister’s public meeting in Mysuru.
He also reiterated that he had retired from politics and would not join any political party or attending political meetings.
Mr. Siddaramaiah’s meeting with Mr. Prasad comes days after Congress candidate for Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha segment Sunil Bose and his father and Minister for Social Welfare met Mr. Prasad at his residence seeking his blessings for the Congress party in the elections.
A number of Mr. Prasad’s supporters too had joined the Congress party in the past few days.
Varuna constituency in Mysuru, which Mr. Siddaramaiah represents in the Legislative Assembly, is part of Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha segment and the outcome of the results in coming elections will be considered prestigious for the Chief Minister.
