As Siddaramaiah finds himself in a spot over ED case, where the Congress high command stands

The Congress is wary of a change of guard in Karnataka as it can upset the caste balance that is in its favour with Siddaramaiah at the helm

Sources said there was no question of asking Siddaramaiah to step down. The BJP has been demanding the resignation of Siddaramaiah. (File Photo)

As the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a money laundering case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the MUDA case Monday, the Congress central leadership signalled it would continue to back the embattled CM and fight the case politically.

Sources in the AICC maintained that the case against Siddaramaiah was nothing but a political witch hunt and that senior state Congress leaders, despite the bitter factional feud, were behind Siddaramaiah. Sources said there was no question of asking Siddaramaiah to step down. The BJP has been demanding the resignation of Siddaramaiah.

“He is a good brand to defend. We will fight this politically. The situation is also different now. It is now like before the Lok Sabha elections when the BJP was dominant and the Opposition was seen as weak … they could arrest Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren. But the situation is different now,” a senior Congress leader said.

One leader said the timing of the registration of the case was tailored in view of the Assembly elections, which are underway in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, and a month away in Jharkhand and Maharashtra. The Congress, upbeat about the party and the opposition INDIA bloc’s prospects in Haryana and J&K and confident of a good showing in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, believe the BJP will have to tone down such high-handed moves against its political rivals soon.

“It is no secret that the ED has become an instrument of harassment, vendetta, revenge, and vengeance on his political opponents by the non-biological PM. The people of Karnataka rejected him resoundingly in May 2023 and He has not forgotten that humiliation. The Congress believes that he and his ED will stand thoroughly exposed soon. We have nothing whatsoever to fear. The CM of Karnataka will be vindicated,” said Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh.

The Congress leadership had a month ago held discussions with senior leaders from the state on the issue, essentially telling them to remain united and devise a strategy in case the criminal proceedings against the chief minister “take a turn for worse”.

The Congress is wary of a change of guard in the state as it can upset the caste balance that is in its favour with Siddaramaiah at the helm. Despite the perceived loss of moral ground in the wake of the corruption allegations, Siddaramaiah has strategically played his cards to suggest that the accusations are part of the BJP’s political vendetta against Backward Class leaders.

Story continues below this ad

Party leaders too pointed out that Siddaramaiah is one of the popular Backward Class faces of the party and replacing him at a time when the party is aggressively playing the OBC political card could politically backfire. Siddaramaiah belongs to the Kuruba community, one of the largest OBC groups in the state. Moreover, the Siddaramaiah government has just completed a year in office.

Defending the CM last month when Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted sanction to prosecute him in the MUDA case, the Congress high command had called the case an attempt to target a CM who is from a Backward Class.