While the pictures of bonhomie between state Congress president D K Shivakumar and legislative party leader Siddaramaiah during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka was widely talked about, just days after the yatra both the leaders are sparring over the inclusion of over 15 MLAs who defected to BJP leading to collapse of JDS-Congress coalition government in Karnataka in 2019.
Ever since Shivakumar took over the Pradesh president, his pro-activeness and ambitious approach have made a strong contender for the chief minister’s position which was recognized by Rahul Gandhi himself when asked recently. This has created quite a heartburn in the Siddaramaiah camp too which was beaming with confidence after the Siddaramostava and now that both the leaders are evenly poised, the game of one-upmanship has begun in the party.
“Along with the blessings of the high command, the electorate, you need the MLAs too on your side if one were to be elected the legislative party leader and there on occupying the CM post. In the run-up to the elections, candidate selection and ticket distribution is very critical. Along with winnability, you need to have them on board, something which both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah know very well. This is precisely why both are singing different tunes when it comes to admitting all those who left the party back,’’ sources in the party told The Daily Guardian Review.
On Tuesday, Siddaramaiah while addressing the media in Mysore said he will not allow those who left the party to return calling them traitors. On Wednesday, D K Shivakumar when asked to react to Siddaramaiah’s statement said: “I am saying this as party president. Anyone who is willing to accept our ideology, our principles, and leadership are welcome to apply for membership. There is a screening committee headed by Allam Veerabadrappa and a decision will be taken in the committee.’’ He also said that some MLAs from the BJP and some who had left the party were in touch and willing to come back. “I will not disclose their names now. You will get to know at the right time,’’ he said.
The comments from DKS were in direct contradiction to Siddaramaiah’s stand leading to confrontation by the leaders. On Thursday, Siddaramaiah again broached the issue saying just by applying for membership, one cannot become a member thereby snubbing DKS.
It may be recalled here that in the previous government Shivakumar was the energy minister and did try to salvage the situation by attempting to stop the MLAs from crossing over, be it in Mumbai or in Bengaluru by visiting those MLAs in the wee hours.
“Siddaramaiah was the chairman of the coordination committee of the coalition government and the senior leadership has still not forgotten his statements about how the government won’t survive after 2019 Lok Sabha elections and that most of them who left were perceived as Siddaramaiah loyalists giving credence to the fact that he engineered the collapse of the coalition government then. So DKS is very carefully moving on their inclusion and Siddaramaiah is openly opposing it to distance himself from them and the controversy,’’ sources said.