If the ruling Congress in Karnataka is a divided House with constant lobbying for replacement of the state party president, the opposition BJP is ridden with factional feuds too. The demand to replace KPCC chief D K Shivakumar and BJP state president BY Vijayendra within their respective national parties is gaining traction but the chances of a consensus candidate as a successor seems farfetched as internal democracy across all three major political parties in the state is only notional.
The Janata Dal Secular, the longest surviving regional party in the state is no different, as JDS patriarch H.D. Devegowda’s family controls the party and also the state party chief, in case he is from outside the family.
The power tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief DK Shivakumar factions, or the Vijayendra versus Basanagouda Patil Yatnal-led rebel faction, has left the cadres confused and the party high command helpless as the top post in the party is no longer elected but selected based on the caste and regional considerations.
The state party president has seldom been elected though the parties conduct elections to the booth, block, constituency and district units. The district presidents usually form the electorate for picking the state party president. But it is no secret that the district presidents comply with the party’s ‘diktat’ and unanimously choose the party chief.
The Siddaramaiah faction has accused AICC general secretary and Karnataka incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala of being “partial” towards Shivakumar. Home Minister G Parameshwara, Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna and PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi have been demanding for a “full-time” party chief indicating that deputy chief minister Shivakumar should relinquish either of the two posts.
"In the past, I had quit the cabinet to retain the party president’s post and focus on strengthening the party. The current chief has two major portfolios and it is only prudent to give up one post," said Parameshwar, the longest serving KPCC chief (2010-2018).
After S M Krishna, veterans leaders VS Koujalgi, Allum Veerabhadrappa, Janardhan Poojary, Mallikarjun Kharge, and RV Deshpande have held the reins of the party.
Parameshwar, a Dalit leader’s tenure was extended twice before he was replaced with Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is currently the health minister. Rao quit the post in March 2020, following the party’s debacle in the bypolls. After three months, Sonia Gandhi picked Shivakumar, who had come out of Tihar jail on bail in a money laundering case, to lead the party. When Shivakumar took over the top post in the middle of (Covid) pandemic, the party was still smarting from a humiliating defeat in the 2018 Assembly polls and the collapse of the Kumaraswamy-led JDS-Congress coalition government.
Shivakumar has completed four years and six months in the post but is unwilling to step down. “The KPCC chief post cannot be purchased from a shop. It is earned with leadership qualities and organisational skills," taunted Shivakumar to his detractors, as the Vokkaliga strongman who is patiently waiting for his chance to be the CM, as per a "secret power-sharing pact" mooted by the party high command.
In the BJP, the last two decades have witnessed veterans like HN Ananth Kumar, Jagadish Shettar, BS Yediyurappa, DV Sadananda Gowda and Prahlad Joshi occupying the post. In August 2019, Nalin Kumar Kateel, who belongs to the numerically small bunt community from coastal Karnataka, was appointed as part of the BJP’s effort to broadbase the leadership.
In May 2023, BJP lost power in the state and was reduced to 66 seats. After a six-month-long suspense, the party high command anointed Shikaripura MLA and former chief minister and Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa’s younger son BY Vijayendra as the party chief. The announcement came as a surprise to many as it was a departure from the party’s ‘anti-dynastic politics’ stance. The move also disappointed many senior leaders in the party and the others who were in the race for the top post.
Vijayendra, a first-time MLA was appointed the party chief on November 10, 2023, and has since faced resistance from the Yatnal faction, which even accused BJP’s Karnataka in-charge Radhamohan Das of "favouritism". The rebel faction has also accused Vijayendra of indulging in "cooperative politics" with the Congress leaders. But Vijayendra had vehemently denied the charge.
Amid the demand to replace Vijayendra, Union minister and BJP’s internal elections in charge of Karnataka Shivraj Singh Chauhan said, "The only party to have internal democracy is the BJP. Soon, the elections for the state president will start. Once the booth-level elections are completed, the state president will be elected. Sometimes, it will be unanimous."
While, the saffron party follows an elaborate exercise of appointing central election officers to conduct elections to the booth, constituency and district committees, the state president election is only a formality and is unanimous.
The Yatnal faction is mulling over fielding a candidate to oppose Viyendra’s re-election.
Speculations are rife over Union minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil replacing his father as the state party president. But a pushback from senior leaders like GT Devegowda has led to the party announcing the elections to elect the party president in April. Nikhil, who has suffered three consecutive electoral defeats is a strong contender for the post.
The Janata Dal split in 1999 led to JH Patel lending his support to BJP-led NDA and HD Devegowda faction emerged as a rainbow party with tall leaders from different communities. It managed to win 54 out of the 224 seats in the 2004 Assembly polls and became a kingmaker. The party that has its clout in the Vokkaliga belt (Old Mysore region) is struggling to expand its base amid desertion by prominent leaders (including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah) over the last two decades.
The ‘family-centric’ politics has distanced prominent leaders from the party. Though the family has appointed “outsiders” A Krishnappa or HK Kumaraswamy or CM Ibrahim as the state unit chief, they were only nominal heads.
In October 2023, Devegowda, JDS national president, dissolved the state unit and sacked JDS state president CM Ibrahim for "anti-party" activities.
With former minister and Devegowda’s elder son HD Revanna and his sons Prajwal and Suraj, entangled in criminal cases including kidnap and sexual assault, the party has lost face among its voters and cadres alike. Also, the party’s alliance with the BJP is brewing resentment among the local leaders and cadres who feel sidelined.
"We will hold elections to elect the state unit president in April. Priority will be given to those who work sincerely for the party’s development," said Kumaraswamy, hoping to put up a good show at the upcoming TP and ZP polls.
The party chief’s post is crucial and considered as a test of one’s organisational skills and an opportunity to garner support from the cadres and party legislators that could help his elevation to the post of the chief minister.
Interestingly, the Karnataka Congress has seen at least nine party chiefs since 2000 and only SM Krishna has been elevated as the chief minister. In the BJP, three of the nine party chiefs have become the chief ministers. In the JDS, Kumaraswamy has headed two coalition governments, one each with the two national parties.
