BENGALURU: Whodunit? Who brought the coalition government down? Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s emotional tweet is a loaded message: “From its first day, the Congress-JDS alliance in Karnataka was a target for vested interests, both within and outside the party, who saw the alliance as a threat and an obstacle in their path to power. Their greed won today.’’
The big question is: Who is the vested interest within the party?
A very senior Congress leader, who did not wish to be identified, explained that in a way, everyone at the helm of affairs was a vested interest. “See the number of leaders who would have turned rebels if not given a ministry. DK Shivakumar was responsible for the Jarkiholi issue, Dinesh Gundurao was accommodated as PCC chief because it was not possible to give him a ministry, MB Patil without a ministry was ready to revolt, so was G Parameshwara.”
Two other Congress leaders claimed that Rahul was referring to Siddaramaiah, because his close circle of loyalists -- Byrathi Basavaraj, ST Somashekar, Munirathna and MTB Nagaraj -- had raised the banner of revolt. He was at unease within the coalition, because even after being given a crucial position as Coordination Committee Chairman, neither the chief minister, his deputy, nor ministers listened to him. From being chief minister, he had turned into a ceremonial head without effective power or authority, something he deeply resented.
Siddaramaiah’s greatest pain point was that his political enemies -- the Gowdas -- had him cornered, on the pretext of running a secular coalition. In private, he had expressed his resentment when officers of his choice were not posted in crucial positions.
“Siddaramaiah’s anger was also over happenings in his constituencies -- Badami and Varuna (where son Yathindra is MLA). There were irritants in officialdom and the government was doing everything to belittle Siddaramaiah from within. Siddaramaiah is the one Rahul Gandhi is referring to,’’ said one leader.
Already, Congress circles are abuzz about the post of opposition leader going to either G Parameshwara or DK Shivakumar, despite the fact that Siddaramaiah is the tallest leader in the state.