Hubballi: In an indicator of rough weather in the coalition government, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaswamy and head of the co-ordination committee , Siddaramaiah did not meet although they stayed at the same hotel in the city on Tuesday.
The Congress leader, who is upset with the JD(S) for its leaders remarks against him, reportedly left the hotel for Kundagol in the morning without discussing the poll strategy with the Chief Minister, who too had arrived to campaign for the Congress candidate in the bypoll.
Mr Kumaraswamy later tried to placate Mr Siddaramaiah by speaking to him on the phone for over ten minutes and senior JD(S) leader, Basavaraj Horatti also tried to broker peace between the two.
“The Chief Minister urged Mr Siddaramaiah not to take the charges made by JD(S) state president, A H Vishwanath, seriously and assured him that he would direct his party leaders to stop making such remarks against Congress leaders. Both agreed to resolve their differences,” Mr Horatti said, adding that he had advised the Chief Minister not to maintain a distance from Mr Siddaramaiah as this would only lead to more confusion. He also revealed that the co-ordination committee could meet on May 18 to deal with the recent hiccups between the parties.
Minister Bandeppa Kashempur too claimed that leaders of the Congress and JD(S) were united in the interest of their parties and the state.
Meanwhile, Mr Siddaramaiah claimed while campaigning in Kundagol that the BJP had offered Rs 25 crore to the late minister, C S Shivalli, to join it.
