Congress' tussle over full-time KPCC president intensifies; Shivakumar holds ground

Those advocating the need for a full-time president are of the view that it helps the organization better prepare for the upcoming local body elections.
Deputy CM of Karnataka DK Shivakumar
Deputy CM of Karnataka DK Shivakumar (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal)
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Much to the chagrin of top Congress leaders, tussles within the party and reverberations over the need for a full-time president for the state unit continued even after their marathon meetings earlier this week. The meetings failed to put an end to the differences and put up a show of unity. On the contrary, they seem to have aggravated it further.

The ministers, especially those from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s camp advocating the need for having a “full-time” president for the Congress state unit, landed the ruling party in a quagmire. While several ministers continue to take potshots, Deputy Chief Minister and President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) DK Shivakumar seems to be in no mood to relinquish the party post.

As the state Congress chief and the DyCM with two key portfolios, Water Resources Department and Bengaluru Development, Shivakumar is a clear No. 2 in the government. He wields enormous power in the party and the administration.

The call for a full-time president is seen as an effort to undercut the Congress’ Vokkaliga strongman’s authority. The ongoing tussle over the party post can be seen as a precursor to the bigger fight for the CM’s post if the high command decides to effect the change in leadership in Karnataka.

Those advocating the need for a full-time president are of the view that it helps the organization better prepare for the upcoming local body elections. They also cite AICC General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal’s statement in 2023 that Shivakumar would remain the state Congress chief till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Some ministers even asked the leadership to end the confusion and clarify if Shivakumar would continue to hold both positions.

What makes matters complicated for the party’s high command is that not one but several senior ministers have expressed such views. Presenting the party state unit’s stand, KPCC Working President Manjunath Bandari says that a detailed report from the state unit has been sought about the ministers violating the party discipline by continuing to issue statements, despite warnings by the high command.

Bandari stated that some ministers, including RB Thimmapur, Satish Jarkiholi, and HC Mahadevappa, are repeatedly giving statements to the media, which the high command has taken a serious note of. Ministers KN Rajanna and G Parameshwara also spoke about the issue of a full-time party president.

That many of them are senior ministers, makes it challenging for the high command to take any harsh action against them. Besides, they had also contributed significantly to the party’s victory in the 2023 polls, and more importantly, enjoy the CM’s support.

However, Shivakumar is holding his ground firmly. He sounded combative when he said the KPCC presidency can’t be bought in a store. He even indirectly likened his position with that of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. The Congress president is also the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha. “They are not questioning me; they are questioning him (Kharge)... They should not do it,” Shivakumar said.

The sternest warning came from Kharge. He warned the leaders speaking about leadership issues to shut up and do the work assigned to them, and high command will take appropriate decisions at an appropriate time.

Differences within the Congress are unravelling around four months before Siddaramaiah completes two years as CM in his current term. The differing voices may get even shriller in the months to come. That could mean two things: either the leaders and camps are trying to position themselves well before the high command takes any major decision, or it could be an attempt to stall any change from being effected.

Either way, given the way the developments are unfolding, there seems to be no end to it, at least in the near future.

The opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) claim that the tug-of-war within the ruling party has hit the state administration and law & order has become a concern. They say contractors expressing displeasure over the state of affairs and delay in clearing pending bills — which is to the tune of around Rs 30,000 crore — and state government undertaking KEONICS’ vendors seeking the PM’s intervention to bail them out of the dire straits says a lot about the situation on the ground. The government, however, may have justifications for each of those issues.

Unfortunately, realisation fails to dawn that people of the state, who have no direct control over the high politics in the party or the government, will suffer if governance takes a hit. And that could compromise future prospects for the ruling party despite its successful efforts of regaining power in the 2023 assembly polls.

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