BENGALURU: With Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) leader Sonia Gandhi finally intervening in the leadership change imbroglio in Karnataka, the deadlock might now be resolved by mid-January. Sources said that a decision to put the matter to rest is likely before Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi goes abroad after January 15.
Sonia met AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party General Secretary (Organisation) in-charge KC Venugopal in New Delhi on Saturday and took stock of the situation in Karnataka.
A cold war has been brewing between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over change in CM’s post. But they were forced to project a united front by hosting each other for breakfast meetings, though on the advice of the high command.
After Congress drubbing in the Bihar Assembly polls, Sonia is likely to see the turmoil in Karnataka in a broader perspective, as the party has to gear up for the polls to Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and union territory of Puducherry in 2026, sources said. Sonia, a veteran leader, knows that Shivakumar, noted for his organisational skills, would come in handy in the elections, said a senior Congress leader.
The Shivakumar camp was upbeat that Sonia intervened as she has a soft spot for the DCM ever since he was sent to Tihar jail in the alleged money laundering case and is now also facing an ED probe. The Delhi Police’s Economics Offenses Wing (EOW) also issued a notice to him in the National Herald case recently. Shivakumar has been reportedly claiming that he had to face the heat because he stood strong for the party.
Shivakumar has met Sonia and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra several times in secret as they too were parties to the reported power-sharing pact struck when the party came to power in 2023. As per the pact, Siddaramaiah has to relinquish his CM post to Shivakumar after completing two-and-a-half years of the term.
At the same time, the Siddaramaiah camp is pinning hopes on Rahul for the former’s continuation as CM and is trying to checkmate Shivakumar with various strategies, including impressing upon the top leadership that the support of AHINDA communities will not be guaranteed if Siddaramaiah is forced to step down.
Shivakumar has also been getting closer to Mallikarjun Kharge and his son Priyank, who met Rahul in Delhi and discussed the state’s political developments for over an hour recently. He later also met Shivakumar, sending out a message that the high command is likely to stand by Shivakumar.
Hitting back at Siddaramaiah sympathisers who were harping on how he is indispensable to the party, Priyank had said, “Was Congress not there before Siddaramaiah?”
But Sonia is likely to weigh several options before taking decision and if both the Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar camps continue to be at loggerheads, she may think of naming Mallikarjun Kharge as a consensus candidate for CM, Kharge sympathisers said. In that scenario, the high command will have to think of ways to placate both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
If Siddaramaiah appears flexible, the high command may nominate him to the Rajya Sabha or even consider him for the LoP post to impress upon backward classes, especially his Kuruba community, suggested a senior Congress leader.