Former AICC president Sonia Gandhi met Sowmya Reddy, the Congress MLA from Bengaluru’s Jayanagar constituency and advised her not to leave the party. She is also reported to have asked her to persuade her father Ramalinga Reddy to stick on with the Congress.
Bengaluru: The political mess in Karnataka has had gigantic proportions. The topmost leaders in Delhi too are a lot concerned.
Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Sowmya Reddy, who is the Congress MLA from Jayanagar met former AICC president Sonia Gandhi, in relation to the resignation of her father.
Sowmya Reddy met Sonia with the help of Sushmita Dev, who is the president of the Mahila Congress.
Sources said, “Sonia Gandhi met Sowmya Reddy and advised her to stick to the Congress. She also said that she (Sowmya Reddy) has a bright future in the party. She is also said to have asked her to speak to her father Ramalinga Reddy and reconsider his decision about quitting the party.”
The sum and substance of meeting the lady MLA was to ensure that Ramalinga Reddy, who has tremendous clout in state Congress, remains within the party ranks. If that happens, all his close aides will also reconsider their decision and stick to the Congress.
While Sowmya Reddy returned after the meeting, she refused to talk to the media. She is expected to return to the city later tonight (July 8).
In the meantime, trouble-shooter DK Shivakumar (Karnataka Congress minister) took an Indigo flight to Delhi at around 6 this evening.
Shivakumar is expected to meet the top leadership in Delhi and apprise them of the developments in the state.
Earlier, there were reports that he would fly to Mumbai to win over the confidence of the rebel MLAs camping at a hotel there, but there was a change in plan in the last minute. There were also reports that the rebel MLAs would change their place of stay, owing to DK Shivakumar’s arrival, but as of now, it stands unconfirmed.
It remains to be seen how things pan out on Tuesday (July 8).
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