After a State Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened a late night dinner meeting with his Cabinet colleagues and is believed to have warned the Ministers to refrain from making controversial statements on Ram Mandir or Hindu faith, thereby playing into the hands of the Opposition BJP to target the Congress government and polarise the electorate ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting with Ministers assumed significance in the wake of the BJP and the JD(S) embarking on a rally in Mandya after a saffron flag was replaced by the national flag on a government land at Keragodu village as per norms.
Post consecration
In the meeting attended by the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, the latter reportedly told Ministers that the State unit of the BJP has become active after consecration of Ram Temple at Ayodhya and the party leaders have to be vigilant to win more seats in the Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting is believed to have discussed shortage of winnable candidates in some constituencies and told Ministers to expose the lies of the BJP leaders by presenting facts and growth, and comparing and contrasting developments during NDA and UPA regimes. Apparently, some Ministers told the Chief Minister that guarantees implemented by the Congress government have not become a talking point in the public and highlighted the need to provide more publicity to them.
Rapport with legislators
Some MLAs complained to the Chief Minister about lack of development works in their constituencies. Mr. Siddaramaiah told the Minister to develop rapport with legislators whose support was crucial in determining the outcome of parliamentary elections.
