The Congress high command’s bid to make former Minister D.K. Shivakumar president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) even before holding consultations with State leaders, particularly former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is believed to have irked many. This has led to further delay in the appointment of a new chief for the State unit.
The Central leaders apparently zeroing in on Mr. Shivakumar even before sending observers to Bengaluru for talks with leaders has reportedly not gone down well with Mr. Siddaramaiah, and this has resulted in sharp differences between the State and Central leaders. Sources in the party said the announcement of a new KPCC chief was unlikely this month.
Mr. Shivakumar, instead of building consensus in the State Congress on his candidature, has made attempts to get the appointment order from the high command, local leaders said. The Central leaders, who were in a dilemma after Mr. Siddaramaiah’s camp supported former Minister M.B. Patil for the post, withheld their decision, sources said.
Leaders divided
Sharp differences have surfaced among party leaders, not only on the choice of KPCC chief, but also on the proposal to appoint four working presidents to the KPCC and the separation of Leader of the Opposition and Congress Legislature Party leader posts.
While seniors such as G. Parameshwara and Mr. Shivakumar are opposed to having four working presidents, Mr. Siddaramaiah and his loyalists, including Satish Jarkiholi, favour it, citing regional and caste considerations.
Speaking to presspersons here, Dr. Parameshwara, a former KPCC chief himself, said having four working presidents would lead to “groupism and factionalism”. He even opposed the appointment of one vice-president. However, the former Deputy Chief Minister favoured the separation of the Leader of the Opposition and CLP leader posts.
On Mr. Siddaramaiah’s displeasure on the separation of the two posts, he said it was “his personal opinion”. The party has two persons for these two posts and this could be followed here, Dr. Parameshwara said.
Mr. Shivakumar, however, was tight-lipped on both matters. He merely said he was only loyal to the party sand not to any individual.
