Cong names troubleshooter Shivakumar as K’taka chief
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The Congress on Wednesday handed over the reins of the party in Karnataka to its key troubleshooter DK Shivakumar -- a decision that had been pending for several months -- while still reeling under the shock over senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit.
Shivakumar (57), a Vokkaliga from southern Karnataka, a seven-time legislator and a former minister, replaced Dinesh Gundu Rao, who had assumed the charge in July 2018. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also named Eashwar Khandre, Satish Jharkiholi and Saleem Ahammed as working presidents of the party’s Karnataka unit. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah (71) will continue to be the Congress legislative party (CLP) leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka assembly.
Gandhi also named young leader Anil Chaudhary as the party’s Delhi unit president. The appointments came amid fierce criticism of the Congress leadership for its indecisiveness to bring about changes in the party that has been on a downward slide since 2014, triggering growing frustration within its ranks.
The Congress is still struggling to find new state chiefs in MP, Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, Goa and Uttarakhand.
Rao (50) had submitted his resignation as the party’s Karnataka unit chief to the Congress high command, taking moral responsibility for its poor show for the December 5 by-elections. Siddaramaiah had also stepped down as the CLP leader on similar ground.
In the December 5 by-polls held in 15 assembly constituencies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 12, the Congress two and independent one. It was widely believed that the intense infighting in the Congress cost it dear in the by-elections in which Siddaramaiah led the party’s campaign.
The race for the top post in the Karnataka Congress had turned into a fierce battle between Lingayats and Vokkaligas, the state’s two powerful and influential caste groups. While the party’s central leadership was keen on handing over the reins to Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah favoured Lingayat leader MB Patil.
Shivakumar had played a key role in sheltering the Congress’s Gujarat lawmakers ahead of a Rajya Sabha election in 2017, sequestering them at his resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru. It was around this time that the income tax (I-T) authorities raided properties linked to Shivakumar. The I-T officials said they had seized unaccounted cash of ₹8.82 crore from his Delhi house.
Shivakumar was arrested by the enforcement directorate on September 3, 2019, in a money laundering case based on a complaint filed by the I-T department.
Shivakumar was released on October 23 after the Delhi high court granted him bail in the case.
Political analyst Manjunath said, “It is a calculated step by the party high command, hoping that the move will galvanise it and help recapture power in the state.”