BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who met LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday, apprised him of several issues concerning the Congress government in Karnataka, which is completing two years in office on May 20.
There were murmurs in the power corridors in Karnataka about Siddaramaiah discussing the change of guard in Karnataka Congress and a possible Cabinet reshuffle. “Both the issues have been put on hold for now as the Congress high command is not in a mood to discuss them at this juncture,” a party source told TNIE.
When asked about only Siddaramaiah meeting Rahul Gandhi, DyCM DK Shivakumar, who is also KPCC chief, said, “He (Rahul) is our national leader, and it is natural for party leaders to meet him. We meet many leaders when in Delhi. There were no discussions on vacant MLC seats. We will discuss it at the right time.”
Though it is not known what transpired between Siddaramaiah and Rahul, sources indicated that the former might have apprised the latter of almost all key issues in the state, including the alleged honeytrap attempt on Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna. “Rahul expressed his displeasure over Rajanna raising the issue in the Assembly. He felt that the matter should have been settled within the four walls of the party,” a Congress insider said, adding that Siddaramaiah assured Rahul of handling the issue to avoid causing further damage to the party and the government.
Rajanna is also in Delhi, giving enough indication that Siddaramaiah would discuss the honeytrap issue with Rahul. Siddaramaiah’s Man Friday and PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, during his visit to Delhi last week, had called on AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and apprised him of the honeytrap issue, who in turn might have briefed Rahul.
On the issue of changing the KPCC president and Cabinet rejig, the high command is likely to take a call after the government completes its second anniversary. Jarkiholi was a strong contender for the KPCC president post, but on Thursday Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s name was making the rounds. “With Siddaramaiah representing AHINDA communities, Shivakumar a Vokkaliga, Khandre, a Veerashaiva-Lingayat, would be the ideal choice,” a senior Congress leader said. Khandre’s visit to Delhi had fueled the speculations further.
MLC nominations finalised?
On the filling of four vacant MLC posts, sources said a final decision has been made and an official announcement is expected soon. There might be some surprises with the high command opting for new faces. LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had advised CM Siddaramaiah to discuss the matter with AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge. The CM may meet Kharge on Thursday, as the latter was busy in the Rajya Sabha during the day. Siddaramaiah had met AICC general secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday, and KC Venugopal on Thursday, soon after meeting Rahul. To mark the government completing two years in office, celebrations in four different divisions of the state have been advised by the high command, a source said.
