KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar speaks tough making the process of selecting new CLP leader difficult, with Siddharamaiah too sounding adamant
Bengaluru: The Congress High Command has found itself in a fix over electing the new leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP), as both former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar are refusing to loosen their stand. It has been causing a headache for the leaders in New Delhi, who are caught in a bind over taking the call on CLP leader, despite winning the Assembly elections with a clear majority.
It has been turning into a vexed issue, as both Siddharamaiah and Shivakumar are not leaving their stance on adorning Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) first, though they have consented for a power-sharing formula during the five-year tenure of the Government.
Shivakumar, along with his brother and Bangalore Rural MP D.K. Suresh, demanded his right to become the Chief Minister, during his meeting with AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal at Shangri-La Hotel, after the Observers from Delhi collected opinions of MLAs on Sunday.
Shivakumar argued that “During the crisis period, I have built the party as a common worker and brought to power. We won 135 seats as Minorities, Vokkaligas, Scheduled Caste and Lingayats in North Karnataka extended their full support to see me as Chief Minister. I have toiled hard day and night and you (Surjewala and Venugopal) have seen that from close quarters. You should consider my request for power.”
Mincing no words, Shivakumar has also told the leaders that “If you are not willing to consider me for CM post, I will quit both as MLA and the Party President, but will remain loyal to the party as a common worker. I will stay aloof from politics and focus on my business. I won’t speak on any other issues.”
Shivakumar is learnt to have arrived at this decision, as he is upset over senior leaders lobbying in favour of Siddharamaiah. The senior leaders and MLAs like R.V. Deshpande, K.J. George, K.N. Rajanna, Basavaraj Rayareddy, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan and M.B. Patil have explained the reasons in detail for making Siddharamaiah the Chief Minister.
Some of the MLAs expressed their opinion in favour of Siddharamaiah before AICC Observers, while some others remained neutral, leaving the matter for the party High Command to decide, it is said.
Dear DKS, make your threat more serious: “I believe that it is time for me to leave the Congress party, along with my followers. I will then join the BJP.
I know that this decision will not be popular with some people. However, I believe that it is the right decision for me and for my followers. I am confident that the BJP will provide us with a platform to serve the people of Karnataka and to make a real difference in their lives.”
Is he not still investigated for finacial malpractice?
He should clear his name, before he does anything. It is a pity that Indian laws are not robust enough to punish people like him.
Is he not still investigated for finacial malpractice?
He should clear his name, before he does anything. It is a pity that Indian laws are not robust enough to punish people like him.
Hello Mysore Murthy
Aren’t you very daft to assume that the BJP wants him and gis 50 M|Ps, given that the BJP has 65 MLAs and his followers will not make that much difference to the BJP, as that party , with his followers and the JD(S) MLAs, all put together cannot a mount achallenge to Congress who have unassailable 135 MLAs. He knows it, better than you. Hence, he will settle for something shrt of becoming the CM.
He is not out of the woods, as the wnqyuiries about his money laundering activties and similar misdeeds are on going. Having made the enemy out of Praveen Sood, the new CBI chief, one can expect another round of enforcement raids to finish him off.
If Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had any sense, they should have warned him to stay away from the centre if power and clear his name.
Why don’t they make Rahul the CM and put all others in the same rank as ministers? He is the only one who can fully stand against Modi
And he has a clean image too with high-quality education from Harvard