Discordant notes the last thing Cong needs

A new Congress government has been installed in Karnataka with an overwhelming mandate after the Grand Old Party captured the only bastion of the BJP in South India. People have huge expectations from the Congress and are hoping that the five guarantees promised by the party in the run-up to the Assembly polls will be fulfilled as early as possible.

What has, however, become a cause of worry for all those who felt the Congress top brass had resolved the leadership tussle over who should be CM amicably, is a statement by senior leader and Minister MB Patil that CM Siddaramaiah will remain in his seat for five years. The innocuous statement seems to have triggered uneasiness among loyalists of Deputy CM DK Shivakumar who had all along hoped that their leader would become CM.

After Congress general secretary KC Venugopal dismissed queries on a power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar quipping that ‘power sharing meant sharing power with the people of Karnataka’, the general assumption was that that a formula had been worked out to everyone’s satisfaction but had not been made public.

It is now obvious from the utterances of Congress leaders that there is still confusion pertaining to the power sharing pact – if there is one – with questions likely to pop up now and then on the issue. This could be because the party leadership has decided to keep whatever formula has been worked out under wraps for now considering its sensitivity and to ensure that different camps work united to fulfil people’s expectations, which are at an alltime high.

Irrespective of what MB Patil may have said and reactions he has drawn from those backing Shivakumar, what is more pertinent is that Siddaramaiah is just into his first days of governance and has a long way to go even if a power-sharing pact has been agreed to. Discordant notes from leaders on the leadership tussle will do no good to a party that has become a beacon of hope at the national level with opposition parties, enthused by the severe blow dealt by the Congress to the BJP in Karnataka, readying to firm up an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2024 Parliament polls.

What matters most at this juncture is for Congress leaders to put aside their differences and doubts and work collectively for the common good of Karnataka where there are problems galore waiting to be addressed.

The city of Bengaluru is bursting at the seams with infrastructure issues crying for attention. Joblessness and farmers’ issues have to be tackled on a war footing, besides restoring confidence and building harmony among different sections.

Projects will have to be conceived to push the state faster on the growth path and draw investors from far and near. The slowdown in the IT sector will have to be deliberated upon, and a plan formulated to address it.

 And so, the last thing leaders of the ruling party should be thinking of now is the term of the CM, which is best left to the central leadership to resolve.

With a CM, Deputy CM and several ministers in place, there is nothing to stop the Congress from getting on briskly with the task of governance and winning the hearts of the people.

Unless of course, they prefer to get caught in the quagmire of dissidence and fritter away a wonderful opportunity to serve the Kannadiga, who has been waiting and waiting for good things to happen!