SUSPICIONS LOOM BETWEEN DKS AND SIDDARAMAIAH

There isa thinking in Shivakumar’s camp that the defeat of his brother seemed preordained by the parallel powers in the Karnataka Congress.

- BADAR BASHIR

After the disappointing performance of Congress party in the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka where the party was expecting majority of seats out of 28, there is suspicion of "sabotage" brewing up between the top two rival camps led by deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and the chief minister Siddaramaiah, according to party insiders.

There is an understanding within Shivakumar's camp that the defeat of Shivakumar's brother seemed preordained by the parallel powers in the Karnataka Congress and therefore they directly point fingers towards Siddaramaiah, as they think Siddaramaiah has played expansive role in DK's brother's defeat,, according to sources close to leadership.

The anti- Siddaramaiah sentiments emerged, according to a leader, when Shivakumar faced a big setback in his Vokkaliga backyard after his brother DK Suresh failed to retain the Bengaluru Rural constituency. Moreover in another constituency Mandya, his arch rival, HD Kumaraswamy registered a huge victory by a margin of 2.84 lakh against the Congress's candidate.