After losing power in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh in less than three months to rebellions aided by the BJP, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will meet the chief ministers of Karnataka, Meghalaya and Manipur in the coming days to ensure that intra-party rifts do not threaten their governments. Ms. Gandhi on Tuesday replaced Manipur PCC chief Gaikhangam with T N Haokip as a measure to quell dissidence.
Apart from poll-bound States of Assam and Kerala, the only major State the Congress is ruling at present is Karnataka, where internal strife in the party came to the fore as nearly half of the party legislators did not show up at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in early March.
For the first time since assuming power in Karnataka about three years ago, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was taken aback by the thin attendance at the CLP. He had managed to contain the resentment that emanated from the old Congress guard as he became the chief minister. Though Mr. Siddaramaiah joined the party in 2006, most of the senior leadership in the State still consider him as an outsider.
In early January, Congress high command had smelled the smouldering resentment against Siddaramaiah as it declined ticket to his close aide MLC Byrathi Suresh and instead offered it to party veteran CK Jaffer Sharief, who is considered a protégé of Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
Met Himachal CM Sources in the Congress said Siddaramaiah is scheduled to meet Ms. Gandhi later in the week. Ms. Gandhi met Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Monday, who told her that the BJP was trying to “destabilise and dislodge” his government. Prior to this, she met Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi, who is facing dissidence from about 25 legislators over party leadership in the State.
As a result, Mr. Gaikhangam was replaced by Mr. Haokip. A former minister, Mr. Haokip is currently serving as State’s deputy chief minister and is known for his agreeable personality across the party rank and file.
