After winning an emphatic victory over the BJP, the focus of the Congress party has shifted towards the selection of the Chief Minister of the state. Both Siddaramaiah and State Congress chief D. K. Shivkumar are strong contenders for the top post. Party President Mallikarjun Kharge’s comment on the future Chief Minister baffled both competing camps. Kharge had said that the party high command would decide the name of the Chief Minister. Kharge clarified the rules of the party for selecting the Chief Minister. He said that first elected party MLAs will give their opinion, and then the party high command will approve the name. He was of the opinion that the majority of the legislators were his followers.
St votes shift to Congress
In the Karnataka assembly poll, the performance of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is now part of the political discourse of the state. He had done more rallies and meetings in the state than all other leaders of the party, including the Gandhi family. After a gap of 34 years, scheduled caste voters have voted for the Congress Party in a big way. As a ‘bhumiputra,” his followers now feel that, henceforth, Kharge may assert himself in the organisational matters of the party in his capacity as party president. In the Congress Party, it is difficult to ignore Gandhi’s advice for running the party. Though at present he enjoys the full confidence of the Gandhi family, it is to be seen in the future how he plays his card in organisational matters.
Opposition meeting for 2024 Lok Sabha strategy may shift to Delhi
Earlier, it was planned that like-minded opposition parties would be meeting in Patna after the Karnataka elections. In fact, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave this proposal to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar when he met her in Kolkata. In the meantime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened the meeting of the council of the NITI Ayog at the end of this month. Most of the chief ministers are members of the council. As all of them will be coming to Delhi for the meeting, a proposal was mooted by the Congress that the opposition party meeting be held in the capital during that time, which may give a strong message to the countries about how opposition parties are gearing up for the Lok Sabha polls. It remains to be seen whether all the opposition parties’ chief ministers agree to that proposal or not.
