BENGALURU: Ahead of the budget session, likely to begin in the first week of March, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's camps have taken positions on the leadership change. Especially, the Shivakumar camp hopes that the high command would intervene and clear the air.
On Friday too, it was Siddaramaiah’s MLC-son Dr Yathindra who relit the fire by saying his father will complete the full five-year term. But Shivakumar and his loyalist MLAs expect the high command to call both him and Siddaramaiah to Delhi and give a word.
Shivakumar said he too is expecting a call. His supporter and Ramanagara MLA Iqbal Hussain reiterated on Friday that Shivakumar will become CM in the present tenure. “Soon I will give another date for Shivakumar to become CM. No one strengthened the party like him as KPCC president. He should be made CM,” he argued.
RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge said AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will call the DCM and CM when there is a need.
Shivakumar is planning to accomplish the mission of laying the foundation stone for 100 Congress Bhavans in the state by March 10 when he completes six years as KPCC president. He wants the leadership issue cleared before he passes on the KPCC president’s baton, sources said.
The Siddaramaiah camp is, however, confident that there will be no change in leadership, instead the cabinet will be reshuffled after the budget session. Energy Minister KJ George has played a key role in the drama, as he met Rahul Gandhi and convinced the latter that any change in the CM post would impact the 2018 Assembly polls.
But the Shivakumar camp has also sent out a message that the party’s image has taken a beating with the CM not being able to handle the MUDA case, Rs 187 crore scam in the Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation and the alleged Rs 6,500 crore scam in the excise department, a Congress MLA said.
The high command could decide both on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after polls to five states, he speculated.