AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge cracked the whip on the warring factions of the Karnataka Congress by asking the leaders to "keep their mouth shut" and deliver the tasks assigned to them.
The demand for a "full-time" state Congress chief had grown louder as deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, who was anointed as the KPCC chief in 2020, completes four years in the post.
Annoyed by the constant friction between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar factions over the demand for a change of guard in the state, Kharge asserted that the party leadership would take the decision when the need arises.
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"The leaders should stop raking up issues like CM and DCM replacement. I am here, Rahul ji is there to look into these issues. We have given the leaders the task to do development work for the people and strengthen the party. This should be their priority," said Kharge, who stopped short of ruling out a change of guard in the state or the party in the state.
Shivakumar, who is hoping to succeed Siddaramaiah as the chief minister as per a "secret" power-sharing pact, is unwilling to give up the party post until the transfer of power. However, the Siddaramaiah faction, which lobbied for the creation of multiple deputy CMs posts to diminish the statute of Shivakumar, is now trying hard to replace Shivakumar as the KPCC chief.
Interestingly, Home Minister G. Parameshwar, PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi and Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna have openly demanded a "full-time" party chief citing the party's "one man, one post" policy.
"I have worked as the KPCC president and I had given up my ministership to focus on party work. The current person has two big portfolios to manage, and the party high command will certainly notice this since it has kept tabs on dinner meetings," said Parameshwar, taking a dig at the party high command stalling a dinner meeting of Dalit leaders called by him at the behest of Shivakumar.
Last week, Shivakumar who was in Delhi got the party leadership to issue a diktat to all the leaders to abstain from private dinner meetings and caste conventions stating it would create further "confusion" among the cadres and also affect the party's image.
A miffed Rajanna had batted for Jarkiholi taking the reins of the party stating the current chief had overstayed.
"The leadership has indicated that Shivakumar would continue as the KPCC chief till the Lok Sabha polls. But it has been six months and we need clarity on this issue," said Rajanna.
Jarkiholi went a step ahead and alleged the party work has taken a beating since 2023, owing to the absence of a full-time chief.
"Moreover, the person who has the support of the MLAs will become the KPCC chief," said Jarkiholi drawing flak from party workers, which forced him to retract his statements.
Amid rumours of Shivakumar's negotiations with the party high command to consider his younger brother and former MP D.K. Suresh for the party chief's post, AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, who met both Jarkiholi and Suresh at Belagavi on Friday, ruled out replacing the party chief for the time being.
Shivakumar took on his detractor's saying the party post was not a "commodity" that could be purchased from a shop. "The party's high command looks at the leadership quality and organisational skills of a person before offering the post. Mallikarjun Kharge is our chief and he has both eyes and ears and he is watching everything," said Shivakumar.
Mocking the power tussle within the ruling Congress, BJP state president B.Y. Vijendra said, "Siddaramaiah will not complete a full term in office and will step down soon, going by the developments in the party. The dinner meetings, caste conventions and demand for the replacement of the KPCC chief is Siddaramaiah's orchestrated resistance to relinquishing power. The Siddaramaiah supporters are arm twisting the party high command too."
