E-Paper
Internal rift, candidate selection may hit Congress in Karnataka
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been jostling over who will be the chief minister if the party wins -- a rivalry that has meant separate bus tours in northern and southern parts of the state by the two leaders in February that reignited rumours that all is still not well within the party
Bengaluru : Simmering discontent over leadership, and issues related to candidate selection, including the potential candidature of a dozen leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (S), who are ticket contenders are threatening to weaken the Congress’ campaign in Karnataka.
On Monday, former chief minister and senior party leader Siddaramaiah told a television channel that the party has not decided to make his rival and Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar the state’s chief minister, if the Congress wins the election. He added that the coming election is his last assembly election and that he is in the race to be chief minister.
On Tuesday, he tried to walk back his comments partially.
He said the news channel misquoted him and that he just reiterated that selection of the CM was a “democratic process” in the party. “All I said is that the selection of the CM is a democratic process. I am an aspirant for CM post and he (DK Shivakumar) is an aspirant, but what they’re saying is false,” he clarified.
Shivakumar has not responded to the comment.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been jostling over who will be the chief minister if the party wins -- a rivalry that has meant separate bus tours in northern and southern parts of the state by the two leaders in February that reignited rumours that all is still not well within the party. The two then decided to have a joint bus tour after the intervention of the party high command.
Karnataka Congress leaders familiar with the matter said that the two leaders were quietly working to ensure to that their supporters contest the polls. Although the party has announced candidates for 124 seats it is yet to name them in the remaining 100 seats where there are multiple aspirants. Party leaders said both the leaders are backing their aspirants for tickets delaying the announcement of candidates.
On Monday and Tuesday, Congress workers from Chitradurga and Chikkmagaluru districts protested outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office against defectors from the BJP possibly getting tickets.
The protest was against BJP MLA, N Y Gopalakrishna, getting a ticket from the Molkalmuru constituency in Chitradurga constituency. Gopalakrishna resigned as BJP MLA last week, and joined the Congress on Monday. Protests have also been going on for the past week in Chikkamagaluru over candidates.
After the protests, Shivakumar said nobody joining the party is assured of being fielded as a candidate. “The ticket distribution is on the winnability factor and nothing else,” he added.
The Congress is also yet to take a call on whether Siddaramaiah will contest a second assembly seat in Kolar. The party has already decided that he will contest from Varuna.
On Sunday, a leaked audio clip did the rounds. It featured a conversation between former JD (S) leader YSV Datta, who joined Congress in January, and former assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar.
“If Siddaramaiah leaves Congress, the party will face Andhra Pradesh situation,” Ramesh Kumar can be heard saying in the clip, referring to decimation of Congress in Andhra in 2009 after the death of incumbent chief minister YSR Rajashekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash. Kumar can also be heard backing Siddaramaiah as party candidate from Kolar. Party leaders said Shivakumar is trying to get backing of party leaders from Belagavi and some other districts, where Siddaramaiah is said to be weak.
Taking a dig at the Congress, state chief minister Basavaraj Bommai of the Bharatiya Janata Party said that both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, were dreaming of becoming the Chief Minister, which will not be realised. “The BJP is coming back to power, I can say confidently.”
Political analyst Chambi Puranik said that Siddaramaiah’s comments on Sunday were a message to the party high command. He added that the Congress would have a better chance of winning more seats if the party puts up a united front.
Meanwhile, both the leaders are trying to drum up the support of as many MLAs as possible. “The selection of candidates will definitely be based on the recommendations of these two leaders. Suppose one has 25 elected candidates on their side, that support is important to compete for the CM post,” Puranik added.
