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2023 assembly polls: Kumaraswamy slams Congress chief Shivakumar amid Vokkaliga turf war
The statements come even as Shivakumar has been openly seeking the support of the dominant Vokkaliga community, found in large numbers across the Old Mysuru region, to back his bid to become chief minister and out-manoeuvre Siddaramaiah, the Congress legislature party leader.
Former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday hit out at Congress state unit president DK Shivakumar for asking the dominant Vokkaliga community to back his chief ministerial bid in the next year’s assembly elections.
“There is no mistake in asking for an opportunity. Stating that you (Vokkaligas) have given an opportunity to HD Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy and also for himself. But on what grounds is he asking? If he says that he has worked for the well-being of the people, development of the state and that he will do more, people might heed to it. But he is asking only to secure power, and will people give in?” Kumaraswamy said.
He said everyone was aware of Shivakumar’s “background” in the last two decades and that the incumbent Congress state president had also lost elections.
The statements come even as Shivakumar has been openly seeking the support of the dominant Vokkaliga community, found in large numbers across the Old Mysuru region, to back his bid to become chief minister and out-manoeuvre Siddaramaiah, the Congress legislature party leader.
JD(S) has relied heavily on the Vokkaliga community support to remain alive in Karnataka’s volatile and caste-based political system and draw most of their strength from the Old Mysuru region where it is battling the onslaught of both the national parties looking to displace the regional outfit.
The BJP and JD(S) have attacked the Congress’s president’s statements asking for support and some within their own party are distancing themselves from the debate on who will be the next chief minister.,
G Parameshwara, senior Congress leader and former deputy chief minister, told Kannada TV1 Kannada news channel on Sunday that all issues other than bringing the party to power as “irrelevant”.
“This is irrelevant now. The first thing we have to do is to bring the party to power. After we get 113 seats (out of the 224), we can think about all this,” Parameshwara said.
He appealed to the party workers that bringing the party to power should be the main objective and the party will face the 2023 elections on “collective leadership”.
The BJP, on the other hand, also hit out at the Congress, stating that the latter was trying to further divide the state to seek votes.
“Vokkaligas do not think with a small mind. They do not support selfish political agendas, corruption and always only look at working for the betterment of people and the state. They (community) know everyone’s abilities, and they will make an appropriate decision. I, too, have a caste that I was born into, but we don’t use it for political purposes,” said CT Ravi, BJP legislator from Chikmagalur and national general secretary of the party.
