• Dinesh Gundu Rao skips event
• B.K. Hariprasad remains incommunicado

Bengaluru: Hours after the swearing-in of Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar in Bengaluru yesterday, CPI-M expressed dissatisfaction with the Congress for not inviting the Kerala and Telangana Chief Ministers to the event.

Expressing disappointment over the absence of Pinarayi Vijayan and K. Chandrashekar Rao at the Sri Kanteerava Stadium event, former CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat urged the Congress to overcome its narrow-mindedness and prioritise the broader objective of Opposition unity.

Karat, speaking at an E.K. Nayanar commemoration event in Kannur yesterday, emphasised that the Congress should abandon its myopic focus on State-level interests and instead concentrate on fostering the unity of all democratic and secular forces to combat the BJP in the upcoming 2024 Parliamentary elections. He pointed out that while Congress might consider itself a major force, it should acknowledge that other parties are also actively opposing the BJP across the country, including in Telangana where the BJP’s influence is growing.

Left Democratic Front Convener E.P. Jayarajan, criticised the Congress for its immaturity and lack of direction in disregarding Pinarayi’s exclusion from the ceremony.

Dinesh Gundu Rao ‘missing’

Meanwhile, former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao was noticeably absent from the swearing-in ceremony, with his followers stating that he was suffering from a ‘high fever’ and was in Delhi at the time. Notably, Rao’s name was not included in the list of Ministers in the first batch.

D.K. Shivakumar replaced Dinesh Gundu Rao as the KPCC President in December 2019 after Rao resigned, taking responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the Karnataka by-polls.

Rao’s supporters mentioned that he had no intention of attending the ceremony, and they were also puzzled as to why only eight Ministers were sworn-in when at least 10 could have been included, including Rao.

Additionally, the names of B.K. Hariprasad and Krishna Byre Gowda were also absent from the initial Ministerial list. Hariprasad had remained in Bengaluru after the election results were announced, hoping to secure a place in the Cabinet. However, he has since turned off his phone and has not been in contact with the party leadership.

If Dinesh Gundu Rao, Hariprasad and Krishna Byre Gowda do not find their names on the list, it could pose difficulties for the new Government. It is worth noting that the list of the eight Ministers was released by Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal instead of CM Siddharamaiah, which has raised some eyebrows due to the authority typically resting with the CM to announce his Ministers.