BENGALURU: Leadership change is turning out to be a political cliffhanger in the ruling Congress with MLAs from the Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar’s camp exerting pressure on the party high command, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s camp – led by PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi -- countering it with a dinner meeting with ministers on Thursday night.
An indisposed Shivakumar, who was restricted to his home for the last two days, has chalked out a strategy with his younger brother DK Suresh to reach out to the MLAs to impress the party high command with numbers for a show of strength, sources said.
On Friday afternoon, Shivakumar even visited Bengaluru Central Jail to meet MLAs Vinay Kulkarni and Veerendra Puppy – both undertrials facing charges of murder and money laundering, respectively.
Meanwhile, some legislators, including Magadi MLA HC Balakrishna, appealed to the high command to clear the air.
Dinner meets, Delhi visits: High drama unfolds over leadership tussle
According to party sources privy to the unfolding drama, Shivakumar is wooing neutral MLAs who wish to abide by the party high command’s decision, hoping it would benefit him if it comes to the numbers game. Shivakumar’s brother-in-law and Kunigal MLA Dr Ranganath led a team of MLAs, with the tacit support of his Vokkaliga compatriot and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy, to meet AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Thursday night.
They appealed to Kharge to make Shivakumar CM as per the agreement that was reportedly reached when the party came to power in 2023. The Vokkaliga legislators, including KSRTC Chairman SR Srinivas of Gubbi, Mandya MLA Ganiga Ravi, and MLC Dinesh Gooligowda, with Dalit MLAs B Shivanna (Anekal) and N Srinivas (Nelamangala) were part of the meeting.
Another batch of MLAs, including Iqbal Hussain from Ramanagara and Kadalur Uday Gowda from Maddur, who too are supporters of Shivakumar are also rushing to Delhi, sources said.
These visits by Shivakuamar’s followers to Delhi prompted Siddaramaiah loyalists – including Satish Jarkiholi, Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and former minister KN Rajanna – to hold a dinner meeting to chalk out a strategy to counter the other camp’s moves.
Interestingly, the CM spoke to Cheluvarayaswamy and enquired about the latter’s visit to Delhi. The minister, however, claimed that it was an official visit linked to his department.
Siddaramaiah said he will meet Kharge in Bengaluru on Saturday. Shivakumar and DK Suresh too are planning to meet Kharge, who arrived in Bengaluru on Friday evening, before Siddaramaiah does and scheduled a meeting for Saturday morning.
