Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar feud in focus as Cong gives Mysuru mayor post to JD(S)

The recent Mysuru mayoral polls have once again exposed the power tussle within the state Congress leadership.

While, all three political parties—Congress, BJP and the JD(S)—fielded their candidates, JD(S) corporator Rukmini Madegowda was elected as the 34th mayor and Congress corporator Anwar Baig as the deputy mayor.

With this, the JD(S)-Congress alliance has managed to retain power in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). But the Congress parting with the mayor's post to the JD(S) miffed the faction of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, bringing under scrutiny the leadership of the KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar.

The hung 65-member MCC had 22 members from the BJP, 19 from Congress and 18 from JD(S), besides one BSP member and five independents.

Siddaramaiah, who is from Mysuru, had hoped that the Congress would get the mayor's post this time as per the pact made between JD(S) and Congress in 2018. As per their pact, the mayor’s post was reserved for the Congress for the first and third terms. Accordingly, Congress corporator Pushpalatha Jagannath was the mayor during the first term, and JDS corporator Tasneem served as the mayor in the second term.

This time, the JDS had kept its options (of an alliance) open and the BJP, the single-largest party, was hopeful of capturing power with JD(S) support. On the other hand, the Congress leaders were apprehensive over the alliance owing to the growing animosity between Siddaramaiah and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and their frequent outbursts against each other. At the last minute, the JD(S) managed to negotiate better and grabbed the top post.

According to Congress insiders, the Siddaramaiah supporters suspect Shivakumar had once again "joined hands" with fellow Vokkaliga Kumaraswamy to cut Siddaramaiah to size. The power tussle between the former chief minister and the 'CM in waiting' is now an open secret.

In a meeting at Siddaramaiah's house, when some party leaders took Shivakumar to task for allying with the JD(S) and parting with the mayor's post to the regional party, Shivakumar stated that the decision was taken by local Congress leaders like MLA Tanveer Sait to keep the BJP from grabbing power.

The party leaders questioned Shivakumar as to how local leaders could take a decision without consulting either the party president or the CLP leader. Shivakumar said he had sought a report from KPCC working president Dhruvnarayan and had reportedly issued notice to Sait, seeking an explanation.