Has Congress high command exerted itself on power sharing?

Bengaluru: The camps of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar continued to exchange barbs even as the Congress high command tried to calm passions. The latest round of tussles started in January first week as All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala forced a postponement of a meeting of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) ministers by Home Minister G Parameshwara. They purportedly wanted to scuttle Shivakumar’s CM ambitions and promote Parameshwara as the next head of government.

Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi on the other hand demanded Shivakumar be replaced as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president as it was long overdue. Surjewala dismissed the notion, adding that Shivakumar would remain Karnataka Congress Chief, leading Siddaramaiah loyalists to demand Surjewala’s replacement behind closed doors. Notably, Siddaramaiah’s 30 months as CM expire in October and Shivakumar is supposed to be elevated to the post after that. Shivakumar doesn’t want to concede the KPCC presidency before he assumes the CM’s post.

Kharge meets DKS- AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge assuaged Shivakumar during a meeting at the KPCC office after the Republic Day celebrations. “Can’t he (Kharge) peacefully sit and have coffee in the building that he built for the KPCC? Do you discuss internal matters of the family in public? The CM has already clarified that there are no differences in the party,” Shivakumar told mediapersons of the meeting. Kharge is also said to have issued a gag order on Siddaramaiah loyalist ministers.

Rajanna spars with MLAs- However, that peace was also short lived as Co-operation Minister KN Rajanna has come under fire from Shivakumar loyalists such as Kadur MLA KS Anand who asked the former to focus on his portfolio. He even claimed the performance of four ministers, including Rajanna, was not up to par.

Ramanagar MLA NA Iqbal Hussain on the other hand claimed it was the high command and not MLAs who nominated the CM. Rajanna hit back, hinting Siddaramaiah was elected the CM by the Congress Legislature Party (CLP). “It is a decision taken by the high command after they consult with the MLAs,” he said.

Popularity vs capital? Professor Narayana A from the school of policy and governance at the Azim Premji University reasoned Siddaramaiah was the popular face of the party with the support of the majority of the MLAs and pan-Karnataka appeal while Shivakumar made massive monetary contributions and offered loyalty and organizational ability.

“In Karnataka, there are two crucial dependencies for the Congress. One is Siddaramaiah because of his mass appeal. Then there is Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar, who has his loyalty, organizational capacity and monetary support that he can give the party. Generally, there’ll be cohesion in the party’s state unit when popular support, organizational and monetary ability etc stays with the same person. In Karnataka’s case what has happened is there are two different people who share this,” he said.