JD(S) eyes Legislative Council chairman post, Congress in no mood to give in

JD(S), with 14 members in the 75-member Council, is demanding the chairman’s post from Congress which has 35 members.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Congress leader Siddaramaiah (File Photo)

BENGALURU: The election of the Legislative Council chairman is likely to lead to a jousting bout between JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah as Congress is no mood to yield ground to its coalition partner in the Upper House.

With incumbent chairman DH Shankarmurthy’s tenure ending on Thursday, the JD(S), with 14 members in the 75-member Council, is demanding the chairman’s post from Congress which has 35 members. The BJP, which is the single largest party in the Assembly, has 19 members in the Council, while three are independents and four seats are yet to be filled.

“There is no question of giving the chairman’s post to JD(S),” a senior Congress leader and Council member told The New Indian Express. “They may ask for it, but how can the party, with 35 members, give it to JD (S) which has only 14 members? The Deputy Chairman will be from JD(S) and Chairman from Congress,” he asserted.

The JD(S) camp too is equally adamant. “The Assembly Speaker’s post was given to Congress, so the Council chairman’s post has to be given to JD (S). Senior member Basavaraj Horatti is likely to be the next chairman,” said a JD (S) leader. On Thursday, Horatti met Deve Gowda and discussed the Council chairman’s election. Later in the day, Horatti took over as an interim chairman. The new chairman will be elected during the budget session of the legislature which is likely to start in the first week of July.

While Deve Gowda may be trying to pacify Horatti, a Lingayat leader from north Karnataka who was not made a minister, former CM Siddaramaiah is said to be keen to see that his loyalist S R Patil is elected chairman. Patil, who resigned as KPCC working president after the assembly elections, had played a key role in Siddaramaiah contesting from Badami and ensuring his victory.

Giving up Council chief post will be total surrender, feel Congress leaders

With both JD (S) and Congress keen on clinching the post of Legislative Council chairman, it may lead to a tug-of-war between the two parties if the Congress high command decides to back Siddaramaiah who has favoured senior Congressman S R Patil. “Though JD (S) leaders are directly contacting the high command, even bypassing the coordination committee, this time around, it is likely to stand with the former CM,” said a Congress leader.

Many Congress leaders TNIE spoke to expressed dismay over the party high command ignoring the state leadership while dealing with JD(S) leaders. According to them, giving the Council chairman's post to JD (S) will amount to total surrender to the regional party.

Patil’s appointment, according to Congress leaders, will help the party tackle regional and caste equations to some extent. KPCC president and DyCM G Parameshwara, working president Dinesh Gundu Rao, Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar, Coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah are all from South Karnataka while former ministers H K Patil, M B Patil and S R Patil from North Karnataka have not been included in the ministry.

“Appointing S R Patil will mean that some semblance of justice is being done to Lingayat leaders from North Karnataka,” a Congress leader said. H K Patil and M B Patil are hopeful of making it to the ministry in the next round of expansion and both had recently met Congress president Rahul Gandhi.