After BJP dig over Karnataka CM impasse, Congress reminds it of UP, Assam delays

While the Karnataka election results were announced on Saturday, the Congress has not yet finalised its CM pick as both its state party president D K Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah want the position. Siddaramaiah is considered to be the front-runner, but Shivakumar is still said to be pushing his case. “Whenever we take the decision, today or tomorrow, we will announce it. It is a matter of today or tomorrow that we will have a new leader of the CLP (Congress Legislature Party),” All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala said in New Delhi.

“Stop listening to rumours being planted by the BJP which is frustrated by the decisive defeat in Karnataka. The Congress is committed to the welfare of each Kannadiga, the Congress is committed to fulfilling its five guarantees, the Congress is committed to implementing its agenda. The Congress is committed to giving a clean, transparent and responsible government,” he said.

“Within the next 48 to 72 hours, we will have a new Cabinet in Karnataka and in the first Cabinet meeting, we will implement the five Congress guarantees and begin the work of building grand Karnataka,” Surjewala added.

In Himachal Pradesh, the other state the Congress won since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the results were announced on December 8 and CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assumed office three days later.

While in 2017 Adityanath took oath on March 19, eight days after the results were announced, last year the UP and his team were sworn in on March 25, over two weeks after the results were announced. Along with Assam — where the election results were out on May 2, 2021, and the CM took oath on May 10 — there was a delay in Uttarakhand too last year. While the results were out on March 10, Pushkar Singh Dhami returned to the CM’s chair only on March 23. In Tripura, the only northeastern state where the BJP returned to power on its own strength in March, CM Manik Saha took the oath of office on March 9, exactly a week after the results were announced. The delay there was attributed to the BJP’s attempts to get the TIPRA Motha regional party on board.

Earlier on Wednesday, outgoing Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai talked about the lack of clarity about who will be picked to head the state. “Congress is yet to finalise its CM candidate despite getting a majority,” PTI quoted Bommai as saying in Bengaluru. “This shows the internal situation in the party. The aspirations of people are more important than politicking. Congress should choose a CM as soon as possible.”

On Tuesday, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said a sorry state of affairs prevails in the Congress and added that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sees himself more as a “postman”.

Malviya tweeted, “Want to watch circus? Watch the Congress select their CM in Karnataka. The BJP also holds discussions and deliberations to elect its CMs and has often ensured smooth transition of power, even between CMs. Despite elaborate consultations, you will never find BJP aspirants falling over each other, rallying supporters and issuing veiled threats to the Party through the media.”

He added, “On the contrary, last evening, Lutyens journalists, who DK Shivkumar hosted at the Claridges, almost appointed Siddaramaiah as the Karnataka CM. Sorry state of affairs in the Congress, where President Kharge sees himself more as a postman, let alone being a decision maker or even part of the decision making team … He keeps referring to some High Command.”