Cong MLAs consider plan for 2 deputy CMs, one a Lingayat

Karnataka Congress legislators and leaders on Sunday deliberated at length the possibility of having two deputy chief ministers in the new government and reserving one of the posts for a Lingayat in a bid to placate the dominant community in the state to which former BJP chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, who resigned on Saturday, belongs.

A senior Congress leader said, “It is almost certain that G. Parameshwar, a dalit leader and state Congress president, will be appointed as the deputy chief minister and will be sworn- in along with chief minister- designate H. D. Kumaraswamy on May 23. But after dislodging Lingayat strongman Mr Yeddyurappa from the chief minister’s post, the Congress is now looking to placate the Lingayat community by offering the second deputy chief minister’s post to Lingayats.”

According to a source, the Congress cannot afford to antagonise Lingayats after its gambit of

offering separate religion status to the community backfired badly though as many as 17 if its Lingayat candidates won in the elections.

“All of them are from the north Karnataka region, which sends about 110 MLAs to the Assembly. Our focus on AHINDA ( doling out benefits to the backward classes, minorities and dalits) too has backfired. Hence, this is the right time to placate Lingayats by offering the second depuy chief minister’s post to them. Therefore, party legislators and leaders deliberated on this issue,” the source explained.

Congress sources added that although campaign committee president D. K. Shivakumar had asserted that he too was in the race for the deputy chief minister’s post, this is nothing more than posturing as he too is aware that when a Vokkaliga ( Kumaraswamy) is the chief minister, another MLA from the same community cannot be appointed as the deputy chief minister.

“It looks like Mr Shivakumar is eyeing the post of Karnataka Congress president as Dr Parameshwar may have to vacate the post after serving in the post for a record eight years in a row,” the source said.

Meanwhile in a related development, Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of VeerashaivaLingayats, has demanded that the Congress high command appoint its national president Shamanur Shivashankarappa as deputy chief minister of the state, to address the “dissatisfaction” among Veerashaiva- Lingayats.