Has a ‘weak’ cong high command failed to break the deadlock on cm candidate

Has a ‘weak’ cong high command failed to break the deadlock on cm candidate

Party is struggling to patch up differences between D.K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah; it faced similar problems in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The absence of a strong and authoritative leadership with vast negotiating skills at the AICC is said to be one of the reasons behind the failure of the Congress to break the deadlock on the Chief Ministerial candidate issue in Karnataka, despite a massive majority of 135 seats.

The Congress Central leaders have been unable to patch up the differences between two regional satraps KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Both are refusing to give up their claim, thus holding up an official announcement of the CM’s name.

In the past, the negotiating skills of the likes of Makhanlal Fotedar, R.K. Dhawan, Ahmed Patel used to help the party arrive at a consensus on choosing the Chief Ministerial candidate.

The AICC general secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala and K.C. Venugopal have held meetings between the leaders, but have been unable to break the stalemate.

Though AICC president M. Mallijarjun Kharge has an experience of over five decades, he has been largely depending on the official word of former AICC president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

More importantly, Mr. Kharge, who hails from Karnataka, would dislike being called partisan by supporting one candidate for the top job.

Claims, counter-claims

Mr. Shivakumar has led the party to a spectacular victory, but Income Tax and ED cases pending against him have come in the way of him occupying the coveted top job, while Mr. Siddaramaiah has the support among all sections of the society, particularly OBCs, Scheduled Castes, and Muslims, sources close to Mr. Siddaramaiah maintained.

However, a leader close to Mr. Shivakumar argued that him being denied the top job could lead to “the Veerendra Patil moment”.

The Vokkaliga vote could shift to the JD(S) in the coming general elections, the leader said, recalling how the unceremonial removal of Veerendra Patil by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had alienated Veerashaivas from the party in the 1990s and led to their shift to the BJP.

The Karnataka Congress leaders said the finalisation of the Chief Ministerial candidate could at worst only be delayed by a day or two. Congress MLC Ravi, who is camping in Delhi, said that both Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar are eligible for the post.

Mr. Shivakumar fought strongly when the party was going through a tough phase, while Mr. Siddaramaiah is one of the tallest and highly experienced leaders of the State. “Both the leaders are eligible for the post. The high command will take a final call after consultations in the next one or two days,” he said.

Jumping the gun

Meanwhile, the Central leaders reportedly expressed their displeasure over KPCC Mahila Congress president Pushpa Amarnath and Ramadurg MLA Ashok Pattan announcing to the media that Mr. Siddaramaiah’s name had been finalised for the post of CM. Ms. Amarnath tweeted a congratulatory note to Mr. Siddaramaiah, only to delete it later.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala has reportedly directed the Congress leaders not to comment on the Chief Minister’s post.