South

Congress made two offers to DK Shivakumar, he refused: Sources

May 17, 2023
Sezarr

New Delhi:
The suspense over the Karnataka chief minister’s post continued for the fourth day today, with the Congress battling to bring state unit chief DK Shivakumar to the top post with Siddaramaiah mulling a second term.

Here’s your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:

  1. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi made two proposals to DK Shivakumar at a meeting in Delhi today. Sources said the two-hour long meeting remained inconclusive and the top contender rejected both the options.

  2. Sources said the first option would have given Mr Shivakumar the post of sole deputy chief minister of the state to lead the state’s party unit along with his current job. He was also offered six ministries of his choice.

  3. The resolution signaled the party’s campaign to reach an amicable solution. The one person one post rule was implemented by Rahul Gandhi when Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was asked to stand for the post of party president.

  4. There was also option 2 – power sharing between Mr. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. Sources said that under this, Siddaramaiah was to get the top post for two years, and Mr Shivakumar would follow for three years.

  5. But this option was not acceptable to either leader, sources said. Neither Mr. Shivakumar nor Mr. Siddaramaiah is ready to move to another position.

  6. Mr Shivakumar has been pushing for the top post, citing his work over the past four years: toppling a coalition government with HD Kumaraswamy of a group of its MLAs and rebuilding the party after a massive mandate in last week’s assembly election.

  7. Failure to find a solution acceptable to all may cost the Congress dearly in next year’s general elections. While Mr. Shivakumar has followers among the state’s politically important Vokkaligas, Mr. Siddaramaiah is supported by the Ehinda Mancha – an old social coalition of minorities, OBCs and Dalits that voted overwhelmingly for the Congress .

  8. There is speculation that in a worst-case scenario, Karnataka could become the next Rajasthan, where a rift between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior leader Sachin Pilot brought the government to the brink of collapse. Kamal Nath’s government virtually collapsed in Madhya Pradesh after Jyotiraditya Scindia left with 22 loyalists.

  9. Mr. Shivakumar, however, has ruled out rebellion. “The party can give me responsibility if it wants… We have a joint house. I don’t want to divide anyone here. Whether they like me or not, I am a responsible person. I will not backstab and I will not blackmail,” he said. I will not,” he has said.

  10. However, settling the question of the top post between Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Siddaramaiah may be a smaller obstacle for the Congress than appeasing the Lingayats, whose victory largely contributed to the swing. A prominent Lingayat outfit has staked claim for the chief minister’s post, arguing that the party would not have reached where it is without their support.