Rumblings in Congress: Is it political posturing by Siddaramaiah’s loyalists to bargain with party high command?

Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna’s statement that Karnataka is expected to witness “major political developments” after September is being seen more as a political posturing by loyalists of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in an attempt to bargain hard with the party high command to concede to their demands, including appointment of new president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and the State Cabinet reshuffle.

Over the past six months, the Chief Minister’s loyalists, including Mr. Rajanna, Satish Jarkiholi, H.C. Mahadevappa, and even G. Parameshwara, have been demanding the appointment of a new KPCC president as the incumbent, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, is on a extended tenure since the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Tricky KPCC post

It is believed that the appointment of the new KPCC president, especially from the Chief Minister’s faction, would help Mr. Siddarmaiah consolidate his clout in the party.

Mr. Rajanna claimed that Mr. Siddaramaiah was not in a commanding position like in his first term (2013-18) following the rise of multiple power centres in the party. The supporters of Mr. Siddaramaiah are seen as attempting to checkmate Mr. Shivakumar’s ambition to become the Chief Minister as per the “power-sharing deal” that was widely talked about.

By issuing statements often, the Chief Minister’s loyalists appear to be putting a lot of pressure on the party high command to allow continuation of Mr. Siddaramaiah in the post for the full five-year term.

Mr. Rajanna and Mr. Jarkiholi’s statements on Wednesday hinted at a “political change”, but it did not clearly indicate whether it meant a change of the Chief Minister, Cabinet reshuffle or appointment of new KPCC chief.

Two setbacks

However, the high command’s decision to scrap the decade-old caste census report, and the postponement of filling four vacant seats in the Legislative Council, ostensibly has not gone well with the Chief Minister, sources in the party said.

With an overwhelming majority secured by the Congress in the 2023 Assembly elections, loyalists of the Chief Minister are unlikely to switch parties like the Congress MLAs did in 2019. The repeat of 2019 appears to be very remote because the formation of a new government will require support of not only the BJP but also the JD(S).

However, barring B.R. Patil, the other MLAs who spoke about the lack of funds for executing development works in their constituencies — Belur Gopalakrishna, N.Y. Gopalakrishna, and Bharamagouda (Raju) Kage — are believed to be supporters of Mr. Shivakumar.

Mr. Patil, who was elected to the Assembly along with Mr. Siddaramaiah in 1983, met both the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister and explained to them what led him to make charges of corruption against Housing Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan. Mr Khan is loyal to the Chief Minister.

‘All is well’

Meanwhile, reacting to Mr. Rajanna’s remark, Mr. Siddaramaiah said there were no differences among Ministers and legislators in the government and ruled out any “revolutionary changes” in State politics.

Dr. Parameshwara said he was unaware as to based on what​​ information Mr. Rajanna made the statement. “Mr. Rajanna, who is holding a responsible position, will not comment without credible information,” he said.