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Journalism of Courage
The New Year seems to appear grim for Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh with the pro-S M Krishna group in the Congress intensifying its efforts to dislodge him in the wake of the party’s triumph in the recent panchayat polls.
The mystery meeting between Maharashtra Governor Krishna, who was chief minister before Singh, and KPCC president Mallikarjuna Kharge has raised the political temperature in the state.
Though the anti-Deve Gowda camp in the Congress too is demanding a change in leadership, their ultimate aim is said to be severing ties with the JD(S) and then going for mid-term assembly polls along with the six other states this year.
This camp, comprising senior leaders like D K Shivakumar, B L Shankar and G Parameshwar, is also planning to apprise party chief Sonia Gandhi about these developments later this week.
Kharge who met Krishna on Saturday morning, held another round of meetings late on Sunday evening thus giving rise to speculation that a change in leadership was possible. The word in party circles is that Dharam Singh’s detractors are in favour of Kharge as a possible successor. Efforts are also being made to attribute the party’s triumph in the panchayat polls to Kharge.
Interestingly, efforts have also intensified in the last couple of days to bring former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah into the Congress. Kharge, who has been more than vocal on admitting Siddaramaiah into the party, is said to have sought help from Krishna in this regard to ensure that the deposed JD(S) leader joined the Congress without preconditions.
Though the plan seems to be targeted at Dharam Singh, the real target of the Congress move is former prime minister and JD(S) president H.D. Deve Gowda. It is an open secret that Dharam Singh was Gowda’s choice for the CM’s position. Any move to replace Singh with a ‘‘tough’’ person like Kharge would not only tilt the equation in favour of the Congress, but would also force Gowda to come out of the coalition Government and thus pave way for fresh polls. Even the move to woo Siddaramaiah, Gowda’s bete noire, is aimed at irritating the JD(S) chief.
Upset by these swift developments on New Year’s eve, Dharam Singh held a long discussion with JD(S) state working president H D Kumarswamy on the issue. The chief minister is in touch with senior Congress leaders like D B Chandre Gowda and Kagodu Thimmappa, among others, to garner support in his favour at the January 4 meeting convened by him to discuss the fate of 11 hung zilla panchayats.
The meeting would also be attended by A K Antony, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka.
