BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar has said that a fact-finding committee will be constituted to analyse the Congress’ performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Addressing the media on Monday after a meeting with KPCC office-bearers, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “Congress’ performance in the General Elections has not been up to our expectations except in Kalyana Karnataka. We expected to win more than 15 seats. The fact-finding committee will find out what went wrong. The committee will analyse every Assembly constituency and submit a report.”
Shivakumar said four region-wise meetings will also be under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and himself to review the party’s performance.
The AICC fact-finding committee will visit all states, and the state team will submit a report to them, he said.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar sent out a strong message to Congress leaders and members in the state that the party is supreme. This comes at a time when there is a growing demand to have more deputy chief ministers in the state.
Apart from the office-bearers meeting, Shivakumar also met All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Sunday. “I do not support public debates on party’s internal matters. Action will be taken against those who violate party guidelines,” Shivakumar warned.
The DyCM said that the ministers will be asked to meet party workers every fortnight at the district headquarters and once a month in the KPCC head office in Bengaluru.
He also warned that, besides taking disciplinary action against those who debate party matters in public, office-bearers who skip three or more meetings will be shown the door. On Monday, close to 45 of the 190 KPCC general secretaries gave the meeting a miss, which irked Shivakumar, informed sources said.
The DyCM further said that three panels have been formed to face the bypolls in three Assembly constituencies — Sandur, Channapatna and Shiggaon.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said they will not publicly talk about the issue of having more Deputy Chief Ministers and abide by the party high command’s decision.