Tower of Babel

With new claims being made about change in leadership of the Congress government in Karnataka on a daily basis and such speculation being rebutted by the loyalists, confusion pervades within the ranks and file of the party.

This being no healthy sign, the party and the government are presenting a modicum of the proverbial Tower of Babel. There have been persistent reference to incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy Mr. D. K. Shivakumar having entered a tenure-sharing agreement when the Congress took over the reins of the Government on May 20, 2023.

Besides the two, Rahul Gandhi and AICC chief Mallikarjuna Kharge are said to have been privy to this understanding. It has never been conclusively refuted, rebutted or rejected by the Congress High Command or party big wigs, although state-incharge Randeep Singh Surjew ala and Mr. KC Venugopal have repeatedly and firmly dismissed any plans for change in leadership.

However, chief minister Siddaramaiah has consistently asserted that he would be serving the full-term and has also hinted about a prospective cabinet reshuffle. This implies greater confidence in his continuing to be in the hot seat.

But given the visits to Delhi by Mr. DK Shivakumar and Satish Jarkiholi, rumours of a change in leadership did gain an element of credibility and indicated a degree of ongoing internal friction, although the High Command has sternly warned party MLAs and office bearers against making such public statements.

Moreover, the talk of the rein of the CM passing over to a Dalit CM too have provided grist to the rumour mill. But such warnings have not deterred members of talking about ‘a revolution in the offing’ while asking partymen to be ready to witness the change on November 20, the midpoint of Mr. Siddaramaiah’s current tenure.

Such rumours and speculations have provided the members of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party much ammunition to exploit the fault lines between the two leaders and capitalise on the “infighting” and charge the government of being indifferent to governance.

Thankfully, the Congress government has the advantage of being surefooted due to huge majority—135 plus members in the 224-member House. But largescale dissonance on the leadership issue does indicate strains within the party and presence of large cleavages between contending leaders.

In whatever manner one could interpret the latest events, Confusion leading to chaos does not augur well for the State which has witnessed massive floods, crop losses, collapse of crest gates at major dams and traffic gridlocks making a mockery of Brand Bengaluru.

The party should not take solace in absence of instability and needs to clear the air about there being an agreement about a midpoint changeover. Constant friction, discord and dissonance doesn’t convey a positive signal to the bureaucracy or potential investors.

It leads to a ‘Wait and watch’ attitude which breeds delays and lethargy in bureaucrats implementing development programmes.