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, amidst a massive majority of 135 seats.
The Congress Central leaders have been unable to as yet patch up the differences between two regional satraps KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Both are refusing to climb down from their adamant stand, thus holding up the announcement of the name.
In the earlier years, when Congress was a formidable presence, the likes of the late Makhanlal Fotedar, the late R.K. Dhawan, the late Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad used to command respect among party leaders across the country. Their experience and negotiating skills used to help the party arrive at a consensus on choosing the chief ministerial candidate and allocation of ministerial berths to leaders, a senior Congress leader said.
AICC general secretaries such as Randeep Singh Surjewala and K.C. Venugopal have been convening meetings between the leaders, but are as yet unable to break the stalemate on the chief ministerial candidate.
Kharge’s role
Though AICC president M. Mallijarjun Kharge has vast 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.
Citing an example from even the recent past, the leader said, for instance, that in 2018, the then Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel struck a deal with the JD (S) and installed the JD (S)-Congress government led by H.D. Kumaraswamy, on the very day of the poll result. Mr. Azad quit the Congress and Mr. Patel passed away in November 2020.
Now, in States such as Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are at loggerheads, while Congress lost its government in Madhya Pradesh owing to “incompetence” of the central leadership, another leader said.
Claims and 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, 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 for announcing to the media that Mr. Siddaramaiah’s name had been finalised for the post of Chief Minister. Ms. Amarnath tweeted a congratulatory note to Mr. Siddaramaiah, only to delete it later.
Talking to media, Ms. Amarnath stated that it was confirmed that Mr. Siddaramaiah’s name has been finalised for the post, and it is going to be announced officially in a short time. She said former AICC chief Rahul Gandhi had spoken to Mr. Siddaramaiah.
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.
