Ending weeks of speculation, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed Siddaramaiah as the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Former Minister S.R. Patil, a close associate of Mr. Siddaramaiah, has been appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. Mr. Siddaramaiah will continue to be Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader.
Meanwhile, the former Chief Minister has been relieved from the membership of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party. In a tweet, he thanked interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi for both appointments and for his role in CWC so far. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he had requested to be relieved of his role in CWC to work more effectively for the party within Karnataka.
The decision was preceded by hectic lobbying between the “original” Congressmen and “migrants” for these posts. AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistry had held deliberations with more than 60 leaders from across the camps within the party in Bengaluru on Sunday. There were several contenders for the post, including senior leaders H.K. Patil and G. Parameshwara.
Mr. Siddaramaiah retaining posts of both CLP leader and Leader of Opposition is being read as his victory, despite voices of opposition to him continuing to grow within the party, especially after the collapse of Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka.
“It shows that he is inevitable to the party in the State despite several other senior contenders,” said a party source. However, a section of the Congress is reading him being relieved of CWC membership as a “reprimand.” According to this section, the reason is the growing complaints within the Karnataka unit. Many directly blame him for the fall of the Congress-JD(S) alliance government owing to his differences with the JD(S). “It could not have been business as usual after the July events. It was clear that Mr. Siddaramaiah’s differences with Deve Gowda family destroyed the alliance,” a Karnataka leader said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah who shifted from the JD(S) to the Congress was handpicked by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to be part of CWC and was once considered very close to him. Him being retained in both roles is also being read as a victory for the “Rahul camp” within the Congress.
