In more trouble for Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Ministers who were dropped from his Cabinet in the recent reshuffle and disgruntled senior legislators have now decided to rally behind veteran Congress leader S.M. Krishna, known for his sharp and open criticism of Mr. Siddaramaiah, to petition the high command for a change in leadership in the State.
Former Ministers and legislators such as V. Srinivas Prasad, M.H. Ambareesh, Qamarul Islam, A.B. Malakaraddi, Mallikayya Guttedar, A. Krishnappa, Satish Jarkiholi, and S.T. Somashekar held several meetings in the last few days and have decided to urge the former Chief Minister to take up the issue of leadership change with the party high command. Mr. Krishna, who is at present in Mumbai, is expected to return to the State soon.
A few legislators said Mr. Krishna had agreed to take up the leadership change issue with AICC president Sonia Gandhi. In the past too, he had exerted pressure on the high command for a change of guard in the State.
Bid to mollify MLAs
Meanwhile, KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao called on Mr. Prasad and Mr. Ambareesh, separately, on Thursday in an attempt to pacify them. The Chief Minister and Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar held talks on measures to be taken to contain the rebellion in the party, which broke out after the Cabinet reshuffle, sources said.
In fact, there was discontent and infighting in the Congress leading to the Cabinet reshuffle, and further intensified after the rejig, which the party says was carried out to remove “non-performing” Ministers.
The dropped Ministers and some legislators have openly alleged that several of those seen as “close” to Mr. Siddaramaiah, like Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya, have remained untouched in the Cabinet rejig.
Some MLAs have also questioned the inclusion of Mr. Kharge’s son, Priyank Kharge, a first-time MLA, in the Cabinet. However, senior Congress leaders are confident that those protesting will be pacified, and see the rebellion itself as a “bargaining tactic” for party positions.
The disgruntled MLAs have alleged that Mr. Siddaramaiah “failed” to take party leaders along when making decisions. However, leaders close to the Chief Minister pointed out that since he joined the party in 2006 and became Chief Minister in 2013, several veteran Congress leaders had been opposed to him. This, they said, led to the formation of two strong lobbies, one for and the other against him, in the State unit
