TUMAKURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has given the go-ahead to Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara to organise the ‘Sadhana Samavesha’ rally in Tumakuru to mark the Congress government’s three years in office on May 20. This is being interpreted as Siddaramaiah camp’s attempt to pitch Parameshwara for the chief minister’s post if the high command decides to change CM.
The strategy is also to counter Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar who has pinned his hopes on the high command handing over the post to him. Sources said Siddaramaiah is ready to sacrifice his post for AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, but the latter is hesitating. That is the reason he is projecting Parameshwara for the post, the sources added.
Recently, senior MLA and CM’s economic advisor Basavaraja Rayaraddi said that if a change of guard is inevitable, Kharge should become CM. “During my visit to Delhi, I conveyed to Kharge that if it is imminent, a leader of his calibre should replace Siddaramaiah, otherwise it would send the wrong signal. But he clarified that being the AICC president, the option of becoming CM is not in his mind,” he said.
“If the CM needs to be changed, the Congress Legislature Party will elect its leader as it happened with Siddaramaiah in 2023 when the party came to power,” he added.
Apolitical event: Dr G
Parameshwara, who reviewed preparations for the rally at the deputy commissioner’s office here on Tuesday, clarified that it will be an apolitical event as MLAs from all parties will be invited as per protocol. “It is a state government’s non-partisan convention. Since the scale of development works carried out in Tumakuru is not matched by any district, the convention is being held here,” he said.