For ensuring smooth functioning between the State government and the Congress in Karnataka, the party has proposed to set up a coordination committee for evolving consensus on various issues among leaders.
The coordination committee will have five members, two representatives each from the Congress and the State government. One representative from the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, is likely to be the fifth member of the panel, party sources told The Hindu.
To ensure uniformity
The proposal was mooted to ensure uniformity in the stands taken by the party and the government on schemes and programmes of the government. The party functionary said it was proposed that all government schemes be discussed in the party meetings before they are announced by the government.
The idea behind the panel was to avoid an apparent confrontation between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on scoring political mileage on announcing schemes or making statements on various issues ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The two have not seen eye-to-eye on the issue of the post of Chief Minister after the first 30 months of the government. Moreover, some of the announcements such as the proposal on naming Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South District have not gone down well with the Chief Minister.
Speaking in public
Some of the Ministers speaking on internal matters of the party in public have reportedly angered Mr. Shivakumar, who has on many occasions asked his leaders not to go before the media on party matters.
Congress party Chief Whip Ashok Pattan’s views on the Cabinet shuffle, Minister for Cooperation K. Rajanna’s statements on creation of four more Deputy Chief Ministers, and some Ministers’ statements to the media saying that Mr. Siddaramaiah would continue in the post of the Chief Minister throughtout the term has caused embarrassment to the government.
Electoral strategy
The panel would also ensure a smooth process in adoption of an electoral strategy of the party as well as the government in the 2024 general polls. The selection of Lok Sabha candidates would be screened by the committee before finalising it by a higher panel at the AICC, sources said.
AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala is expected to participate in all coordination meetings to ensure unanimity between the party and the government.
