BENGALURU: At a time when the Vokkaligas are rallying behind Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to occupy the top post, the members of the Kuruba community, to which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah belongs, are throwing their weight behind him to continue to lead the state. Shivakumar hails from the Vokkaliga community.
The Kuruba community leaders, under the guidance of Tinthini Mutt head Sri Siddaramanandapuri, held a meeting at the Kuruba Sangha office in Bengaluru on Friday and issued a stern warning to the Congress high command that if Siddaramaiah is removed from the CM’s chair, they will vote against the party in the 2028 Karnataka Assembly polls.
They blamed the high command for not taking the right political measures that could have prevented the ongoing leadership crisis.
“This is not just the Kuruba community’s stance, as Siddaramaiah has identified himself as an Ahinda (a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits) leader.
Therefore, the high command should act in a way that does not cause any harm to the community,” the seer said. “It is wrong for a swamiji of any community to take a stand on the CM change issue. We are not supporting Siddaramaiah because he is from the Kuruba community. We are because he is in favour of the poor and the downtrodden,” he said.
Siddaramaiah should not be removed from the post of Chief Minister for any reason, he said. “We will campaign against those among the 140 Congress MLAs who are against Siddaramaiah and defeat them,” the Kuruba leaders warned.
They also suggested that a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting should be convened to resolve the issue.
Vokkaliga seer meets Shivakumar
Kunchitiga Vokkaliga seer Sri Nanjavadhuta met Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and expressed his solidarity with the latter.
“His contributions to the Congress cannot be forgotten, and the pain he suffered is beyond description. Shivakumar was given the post of party president at a time of great crisis. He did not lose heart even in such an unfortunate situation,” he said.
Shivakumar is loyal to both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and brought the party to power in collaboration with Siddaramaiah, he said.
The seer said that not just the Vokkaliga community but other communities too are in favour of Shivakumar becoming the next CM. “Are Vokkaligas not OBCs? DK Shivakumar is also an OBC leader,” he justified, urging Siddaramaiah to ensure Shivakumar also gets an opportunity to become the CM.