Benglauru: M.B. Patil, the former water resources minister and MLA representing Babaleshwara who has projected himself as a poster boy of the rebels and the disgruntled in the Congress party and was virtually number two in the Siddaramaiah dispensation, is finding it hard to reconcile to the reality of being relevant without holding onto power. Interestingly, he has a legacy of dissidence, a gene he inherited from his father B.M. Patil.
The late B.M. Patil had a running feud with the late Chief Minister Veerendra Patil, the well known Lingayat leader from Kalaburgi. In 1971, as the Congress’ internal crisis hotted up, it was B.M. Patil who went to Raj Bhavan with 12 other MLAs, and gave a letter withdrawing support to the Veerendra Patil government.
Then Governor, Dharam Veer, did not think twice. He dismissed the Veerendra Patil government. At that time, there was no Supreme Court ruling on the floor test. The chief minister resigned and President’s rule was imposed. And six months later, when the Congress party came back to power, D. Devaraj Urs became chief minister. Now, the old Congressmen are waiting to see whether M.B. Patil will go his father’s way or chart a path of reconciliation.
