RAHUL FOR SIDDARAMAIAH, RSS FAVOURS CHANGE IN KARNATAKA LEADERSHIP

Ahead of next year’s Assembly elections in Karnataka, politics in virtually all political parties has peaked with leading players positioning themselves for the race that could be both close and exciting. In the Congress, Rahul who is banking on a big victory for the Congress in the Southern State recently had one on one meetings with prominent leaders, Siddaramaiah and D.K.Shiva Kumar in order to take stock of the situation. He is understood to be in favour of the former chief Minister, who in is his estimation was best placed to wrest power from the BJP. However DK.Shiva Kumar who has made no secret of his ambitions is not the one to easily give up, and has communicated to the party High Command that he alone should be the face of the party, since he had been instrumental in raising finances for the organization. The clear indication was that he had a bigger role to play than being virtually the ATM. Shiva Kumar was elevated to the post of the State President, after Sonia Gandhi’s closest aide, the late Ahmed Patel convinced her that he was possibly most suitable for that position. A Vokkaliga by caste, Shiva Kumar has endeared himself to several prominent party leaders at the national level. Siddaramaiah on the other hand remains the most popular and acceptable leader in the State and it is doubtful that without him being there, the Congress stands any chance in the Assembly polls. In another development, former Union Minister, KH Muniyappa has conveyed to the High command that he was planning to move to Janata Dal (Secular). The reason for this is some local level conflict. In order to convince him not to leave, Shiva Kumar is believed to have visited his home, a few days ago. The Congress wants to take advantage of the poor graph of the current Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who has courted controversy by proceedings against two senior officials who once worked under him directly when he was the Home Minister in the BS Yeddyurappa government. Some strong BJP leaders in Delhi have been protecting Bommai but sources said that the RSS favoured a change and wanted a well-known Lingayat to replace Bommai who like Yeddyurappa also belongs to the same community. In this connection, the name of former Chief Minister Jagdeesh Shettar is doing the rounds in power circles though the final call for a change would be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  Leaders supporting Bommai are of the view that if he is changed, the decision would not be endorsed by Yeddyurappa whose son is seeking to become the deputy Chief Minister. One view is that ahead of the polls, the BJP should maintain a status quo while certain RSS leaders feel that Bommai should be replaced in the larger interests of the party. The Janata Dal (Secular) is watching the developments very closely and hopes that if the tussle in the two large parties continues till elections, it shall have to play the role of the King Maker. The Janata Dal (S) is being guided by former Prime Minister H.D.Deva Gowda and his son, H.D.Kumaraswamy, also a former CM. The next few weeks would perhaps keep Karnataka on the political centre stage with so much likely to happen.