Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar likely to share CM term
Sources in the AICC said that Siddaramaiah has put forward a suggestion that he was willing to share the chief minister ’s position with Shivakumar
Ater the sweeping mandate in Karnataka Assembly elections, Congress is busy finalising the Chief Minister following open claims from senior leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.
Sources in the AICC said that Siddaramaiah has put forward a suggestion that he was willing to share the Chief Minister position with Shivakumar.
However, Siddaramaiah, according to the sources, wants the first term and that he would demit office ater the first two years with Shivakumar to follow in the rest of the term.
With the Kurba community and Vokkaliga community of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar respectively pitching for their community members, the Congress high command is in a difficult situation.
The Congress high command is likely to finalise the decision on Monday itself and there is a strong possibility of Siddaramaiah becoming the Chief Minister for the first term.
Sources in the party told IANS that Shivakumar will also agree for this arrangement but he has categorically informed the party high command that he should be made the single Deputy Chief Minister with home porfolio.
According to a senior leader of the Karnataka Congress, around 70 per cent of the elected legislators had supported Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister.
The final decision will be announced by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge ater consulting the AICC observers - former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh, and Deepak Babariya.
The AICC president will have discussions with Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka Gandhi as well as the AICC general secretary (Organisation), K.C. Venugopal, and AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Madhya Pradesh Congress Commitee (MPCC) chief Kamal Nath said on Monday that he was in regular contact with both Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar, and could not say who will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister as both are close to him.
The former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh said he has spoken to both of them.
He made this statement while responding to the question about the CM pick in Karnataka.
“Both Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar are close to me, and I am in regular touch with them, but I can’t say who will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister. I have also spoken to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
“Congress leadership is well capable of taking decisions on this mater,” Kamal Nath said while talking to the media here in Bhopal on Monday.
Meanwhile, he accused the BJP of creating communal tension by misusing the name of ‘Bajrang Bali’, but “today’s voters are well aware of these tactics. They (BJP) tried enough to misuse the name of Bajrang Bali for their votes, however, they failed.
“BJP’S vote share in Karnataka decreased below 50 per cent,” he added.
He also accused the BJP leadership in Madhya Pradesh of trying to create communal tension by mixing religious issues with politics.
“I haven’t seen the film ‘The Kerala Story’ neither I am aware of it, but I can say that the BJP is deliberately trying to create communal tension in Madhya Pradesh.
“But, people are very well aware of their tactics,” he added.
Kamal Nath further said Congress’ ‘Nari Samman Yojana’ was geting massive response from the people across Madhya Pradesh, but in the end, it would be a mater of trust.
“CM Chouhan is making fake promises only, but what did he do for the people of Madhya Pradesh in 18 years, he is running away when I ask him to reply,” Nath added.
Ater Karnataka, Congress is now geting ready to take on the ruling BJP in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections due at the end of this year.
While the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government is facing huge anti-incumbency, the Congress seems energised ater Karnataka’s victory.
The Congress has more Lingayat lawmakers. The strike rate among candidates from this influential community, which has traditionally voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was far higher than that among its non-lingayat ones.