Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is in the eye of a storm over serious allegations against him and his administration, has gone on an overdrive to control the damage to his government’s image.
Siddaramaiah who looked a bit perturbed by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case and subsequent developments that saw nearly half-a-dozen Congress leaders publicly expressing their chief ministerial aspirations in case of a change of guard appears to be trying to send out a message that he is in complete control of the situation.
In a marked departure from his earlier approach, on Thursday when the Karnataka High Court was hearing the MUDA sites allotment case against him, the CM went on Bengaluru City rounds, travelling by Metro Rail and inspecting ongoing infrastructure works. Later, he visited Ramanagar and Mandya.
Many in political circles view it as an effort to control the damage and deflect attention. Allegations against him, the government and discussions on leadership change had given an impression of political uncertainty, which could seriously impact the administration. Speculation over a change of guard is one of the worst nightmares for any administration.
The BJP governments led by BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai also faced similar challenges, though under different circumstances and for different reasons. Ironically, the Congress that came to power last year with a thumping majority of 136 seats in the 224-member assembly finds itself in a quandary. That, despite implementing its key election promise the five guarantees, which carve out a major chunk from the state’s expenditure.
Senior Congress leaders have admitted that the recent developments within the party have hit the administration. In their letter to former AICC president and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, they have stated: “….more than six leaders including senior ministers are issuing statements claiming the post of Chief Minister instead of fighting against BJP & JDS. Due to this many of our leaders and workers are getting demoralized and losing their hopes in the government and the party. Similarly, the people of Karnataka are slowly losing their faith and confidence in our party and government because of infighting and reckless statements of our leaders. The government’s administration too has been hampered to a great extent.”
Several senior leaders, including HM Revanna, Chairman of the Guarantee Implementation Committee, were signatories to the letter. Meanwhile, some party MLCs wrote to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge expressing concerns over CM aspirants’ statements resulting in discussions on the government’s instability.
As the narrative was going against the government, the CM’s team suddenly shifted gears, which came at a time when Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar was in the United States of America on a private visit, where he also met his party’s top leader Rahul Gandhi. The meeting in the USA did raise many eyebrows, especially after Shivakumar put out the photographs on social media. Shivakumar is expected to return on September 16.
Meanwhile, the MUDA case against Siddaramaiah has shaken the Congress government. The case has reached a decisive stage. All eyes are on the High Court which heard arguments from all sides and has reserved the verdict.
Many in the party believe Rahul Gandhi has placed his trust in Siddaramaiah and is expected to back him to the hilt. However, politics is unpredictable. A lot depends on the outcome of the legal battle and how the party leaders view the developments. If things work well for him, Siddaramaiah could even emerge as a much stronger leader. Anything is possible.
However, amid the challenges faced, the government is trying to turn the tables on the BJP by expediting the probe into alleged irregularities during the latter’s tenure.
A committee consisting of five ministers, headed by Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, has been constituted to review and coordinate action to be taken about scams that are being probed by different agencies. The committee has been asked to complete its task in two months. But it’s not clear if it is just an attempt to divert attention from the allegations against the Congress government. What will be the role of such a committee when the cases are investigated by different agencies? Will it not amount to influencing/intervening in the probe? Will that not strengthen the BJP’s allegation of political vendetta?
There are many unanswered questions about the ministers’ committee as well as Congress’ ability to rein in its leaders who are publicly expressing their chief ministerial aspirations.
On its part, the opposition BJP is preparing for the second round of padayatra to highlight the multi-crore scam in the ST Development Corporation. However, the BJP faces its own set of challenges. RSS had to intervene to bring a truce among the factions as many senior leaders were openly speaking against the party state president BY Vijayendra.
For now, it looks as though the Congress and BJP are focused on damage-control exercises even as they set their eyes on future battles.
