In a statement that has reignited the leadership issue, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, former MLA and son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has said that his father will “continue as Chief Minister for the next five years without any problems” if people support the party in the coming Lok Sabha elections and ensure the highest number of seats for the Congress.
The statement gains significance in the light of the continued debate on whether Mr. Siddaramaiah will complete the full term as Chief Minister or cede space to his deputy D.K. Shivakumar after two-and-a-half years.
Addressing a gathering in Holenarsipur taluk of Hassan district on Tuesday, Mr. Yathindra said his party had promised people five guarantees before the elections, which it has met already within a year. “The government is spending ₹56,000 crore every year to implement the five guarantee schemes. Never in the history of the State has such a huge amount been earmarked for the benefit of poor people,” he said.
Mr. Yathindra said if the party won the highest number of seats in the coming Lok Sabha polls, the party’s morale would go up. “We spent government money on the poor. We need to know that people are in our favour for the good work we did. You have to express it by supporting the party in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Appealing to the people to strengthen the hands of Mr. Siddaramaiah by supporting the Congress, he said that if the party won the highest seats, Mr. Siddaramaiah would become stronger. “He will continue the guarantee schemes for five years and continue to remain as Chief Minister for five years without any problems,” he said.
While the Opposition parties were quick to interpret it as a sign of the continued one-upmanship between the two top leaders, the Chief Minister himself dismissed it saying it was all “up to the high command”.
Mr. Shivakumar, in a statement, said there was no need to twist Mr. Yathindra’s words. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, “Mr. Yathindra is a responsible leader, there is no need to twist his words or quote him out of context.”
“Our government will be strong for five years. Mr. Siddaramaiah is our Chief Minister now and I am the president of the KPCC, both of us will fight the upcoming elections together. We will face the elections under Mr. Siddaramaiah’s leadership, there is no doubt about it. There is nothing wrong in aspiring for more and seeking strength from the people. Even I have sought it from people of my region,” he said.
Asked about BJP’s comments that things were being designed within the Congress to keep him away from power, Mr. Shivakumar retorted, “Let the BJP first fix its own internal party issues.”
