Siddaramaiah b’day event draws concerns from Shivakumar’s brother

Long before the Siddaramotsava preparations, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been nursing chief ministerial ambitions and are also working towards consolidating their clout within the state Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly polls in Karnataka.

Lone Congress MP from Karnataka and brother of the state party president DK Shivakumar, DK Suresh on Thursday expressed concern over ‘Siddaramotsava’, a massive public meeting organised by supporters of former chief minister Siddaramaiah on his 75th birthday, saying that it should not send out a “wrong message” ahead of the assembly elections next year.

Lone Congress MP from Karnataka and brother of the state party president DK Shivakumar, DK Suresh on Thursday expressed concern over ‘Siddaramotsava’, a massive public meeting organised by supporters of iddaramaiah on his 75th birthday. (PTI)

Siddaramaiah’s supporters have planned a public meeting in Davanagere on August 3 to celebrate his 75th birthday.

Named Siddaramotsava, the massive convention is also being seen as a show of strength by the former CM’s camp as he turns 75, according to people aware of the developments.

Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been nursing chief ministerial ambitions and are also working towards consolidating their clout within the state Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly polls in Karnataka.

Siddaramotsava will be further organised in every district and assembly constituency, till September 3, aimed at projecting Siddaramaiah and his contributions, which is being seen as an attempt to send a message to both the high command and detractors within the party, ahead of polls, while consolidating his vote base, the above-cited people said.

Suresh, the brother of the KPCC president Shivakumar, said that the birthday celebration should not be an event to project someone or to give leadership to someone. “This (Siddaramotsava) is seen as one to project Siddaramaiah or personality cult, not sure if Siddaramaiah himself wants this, but some people continue to do it,” Suresh said, addressing a gathering of Congress leaders and workers at the preparatory meet for the Siddaramotsava.

“It’s an election year, so we must see to it that the celebration does not damage the party, especially by sending out a wrong message to our workers and society,” he added.

On Wednesday, Shivakumar rejected a demand by a party worker for a ‘Shivakumarotsava’ to be held along the lines of Siddaramotsava. ”I don’t want any Utsava (festival). I want only Congress Utsava,” he said.

He was responding to a plea by Honakere (Mandya) gram panchayat member G C Raju that Shivakumar’s birthday on May 15 should be celebrated as well. Member of the KPCC media team, Raju wrote to the ‘Siddaramotsava’ committee members demanding that they should also organise ‘Shivakumarotsava’ to celebrate Shivakumar’s contribution to the Karnataka Congress.

“I request the committee members to propose the Shivakumarotsava 23 event during the preparatory meeting on Amrit Mahotsava on July 13,” Raju said in the letter. The letter has been sent to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala.

“I have nothing to do with what admirers say. For my birthday, I asked my followers not to issue advertisements. I went with my family to Kedarnath. The day I took charge as KPCC president, I said we should worship the party and not individuals,” Shivakumar said, responding to the letter.

The KPCC chief made it clear that he asked his supporters and well-wishers not to organise any celebrations for his birthday. “When my supporters told me that they are issuing advertisements extending birthday greetings, I had turned them down,’’ he said.

When asked why he did not attend the preparatory meeting for Siddaramaiah’s birthday celebration, Shivakumar said that he had to attend a preparatory meeting on India’s 75th Amrit Mahotsava, for which the party is planning to have programmes.

Any reaction from the Siddaramaiah side or expert comment on what this birthday celebration would mean?