Karnataka: Search for new KPCC chief has begun, says All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge

With Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar set to take over as the Chief Minister on Wednesday (June 3), the party is looking at multiple leaders and caste combinations to identify his successor to lead the party organisation.

All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge told presspersons in Kalaburagi on Sunday that discussions are actively under way to find a successor for the State party chief’s position.​ ​”Naturally, a replacement of the KPCC chief must take place now. We need to evaluate good candidates and look at the right combination to make this appointment. From the perspective of the party’s future and strengthening its organisation, we need a dynamic leader,” he added.

Party sources said that besides Satish Jarkiholi, who has emerged as the frontrunner in the race for the KPCC president’s post, names of other leaders are also coming up for discussion. These names are cropping up as part of caste and regional combinations that are being discussed with regard to the Cabinet formation, and ultimately, the decision will be part of the power-sharing agreement between Mr. Shivakumar and outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, sources said.

Mr. Kharge said, “We have only around 24 months remaining in the current legislative term, and the incoming leader should be one who can work at a rapid pace, foster collective unity, and take everyone along. At the same time, there must be a strong team of party workers and leaders who can cooperate and work in tandem with the new chief. Weighing all these aspects, we are deliberating on the matter.”

DCM post: Dalit Left or Right makes it complicated

Appointment of Deputy Chief Ministers and the decision of handing over the Bengaluru Development portfolio are still being seen as vexed issues during the discussions on Cabinet formation, which is also in the early stage. “The emergence of K.H. Muniyappa, the Dalit Left leader from Kolar, in the race for the post of Deputy Chief Minister, has made the decision complicated, and competition between the Dalit Left and Dalit Right has emerged. Unless this issue is resolved, the larger discussion on having multiple Deputy Chief Ministers will not move forward,” a Congress source said.

Senior leader G. Parameshwara and Minister Priyank Kharge were already in competition for the Deputy Chief Minister’s post in the SC quota, and emergence of Mr. Muniyappa has further complicated the matter.

Sources said that Mr. Shivakumar is keen on retaining the Bengaluru Development portfolio ahead of the elections to five corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Authority, while his insistence has not gone well with senior Ministers.

Coordination committee idea receives support

The proposal to form a coordination committee — headed by outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to build consensus on contentious issues — which is being pushed by some party seniors received support publicly from senior Dalit Left Minister K.H. Muniyappa. “The coordination committee is most important and badly required in any political party,” he told presspersons in Bengaluru on Sunday. A coordination committee headed by Mr. Siddaramaiah functioned during the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress government in 2018-2019.