The tussle over power-sharing between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar, which had surfaced during the formation of the Congress government in May, is in the open once again.
Amid claims by some MLAs that Mr. Shivakumar will take over the post of Chief Minister after two and a half years, Mr. Siddaramaiah’s assertion last week that he will complete a full term has again set the cat among the pigeons.
While Mr. Siddaramaiah has a mass following and is known to appeal to the minorities, backward classes, and Dalits across the State, Mr. Shivakumar, who is also heading the State party unit, is known for his organisational skills and pull among the dominant Vokkaliga community.
With both leaders vying for power, the Congress high command, especially Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, prevailed upon them to work together to ensure smooth government formation as well as the rolling out of the party’s five guarantee schemes. However, there has been turbulence every now and then, largely owing to the varying political backgrounds, leadership styles, ambitions, and ideological approaches of the two leaders.
Though Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar sought to give the impression that there is no political one-upmanship, their staunch supporters have been openly airing their differences. The omission of senior party leader B.K. Hariprasad from the Cabinet and the alleged side-lining of a section of Cabinet ministers in making key decisions have caused resentment. Some ministers alleged a lack of acknowledgement for their contributions in the party’s spectacular victory in the 2023 Assembly elections. Even as Mr. Shivakumar is biding his time, ministers Satish Jarkiholi and G. Parameshwara have also been nursing their ambition to occupy the coveted top post.
In order to ensure equal distribution of powers, Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna mooted a proposal before the high command to appoint three more Deputy Chief Ministers for “balancing castes” ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This proposal is seen as a bid by the Siddaramaiah camp to checkmate Mr. Shivakumar, who is seen to be taking decisions related to Bengaluru, which is key to the State’s economic growth, with little consultation.
Mr. Shivakumar’s “unilateral” proposal to rename Ramanagara district, abutting the State capital, as Bengaluru South has not gone down well with the Chief Minister. Mr. Siddaramaiah distanced himself from it saying, “I will discuss it with him. As he has not discussed the matter, I don’t know what is on his mind.”
The proposal was made with the intent of developing real estate, and drew flak from many quarters, especially Janata Dal (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, who had carved out Ramanagara district from Bengaluru Rural in 2007 when he was Chief Minister.
Amid all this brouhaha, delays in the appointment of party workers and legislators to 80-odd government boards/corporations, out-of-turn remarks by ministers and party MLAs on the tenure of the Chief Minister and other issues, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s allegations of corruption in the government do not augur well for Congress ahead of the general elections.
In a damage control exercise, AICC general secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala and K.C. Venugopal huddled with Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar last week in Bengaluru, to pacify them. The leaders also cautioned ministers and legislators not to cross the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ of the party. They warned that “appropriate action” would be taken against those making public statements on internal party matters and the government.
The BJP, which has mastered the art of engineered defections (‘Operation Lotus’), first in 2008 and then in 2019 in Karnataka, has adopted a wait-and-watch policy. Mr. Shivakumar and others in the Congress have claimed that there is “a big conspiracy” to topple the government.
In an attempt to send a clear message to the Congress cadre that ‘all is well’ in the government, Mr. Siddaramaiah recently held a breakfast meeting with his cabinet colleagues, including Mr. Shivakumar, and instructed them to work hard to ensure victory in at least 20 out of 28 seats in the 2024 general elections. While this is an apparent compromise bid, the game of one-upmanship between the top leaders is clearly not over. It is anybody’s guess when it might get intense again.
