<p class="bodytext">Veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who is aspiring to become a deputy chief minister, on Thursday met JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda at his Padmanabhanagar residence and held talks with him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shamnur, who is the president of Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, is learnt to have apprised Gowda about the need for accommodating a Lingayat leader as deputy chief minister. Many of the community pontiffs have already urged the Congress-JD(S) combine to make a Lingayat leader as the deputy chief minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Congress had initially mooted a proposal for creating two deputy chief minister posts in order to accommodate a Dalit and a Lingayat. But Gowda is learnt to have shot down the proposal. Shamanur, who is a Lingayat, is a strong contender for the deputy chief minister’s post in the Congress.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who is aspiring to become a deputy chief minister, on Thursday met JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda at his Padmanabhanagar residence and held talks with him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shamnur, who is the president of Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, is learnt to have apprised Gowda about the need for accommodating a Lingayat leader as deputy chief minister. Many of the community pontiffs have already urged the Congress-JD(S) combine to make a Lingayat leader as the deputy chief minister.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Congress had initially mooted a proposal for creating two deputy chief minister posts in order to accommodate a Dalit and a Lingayat. But Gowda is learnt to have shot down the proposal. Shamanur, who is a Lingayat, is a strong contender for the deputy chief minister’s post in the Congress.</p>