In race for CM post, Shivakumar runs into bumps: CBI assets case to Satish Jarkiholi muscle-flexing

Earlier in the same week, when Shivakumar visited Belagavi to attend a Dasara event, none of the 11 Congress MLAs from the region, including his close aide Lakshmi Hebbalkar, turned up to receive him.

At the same time, the Congress heavyweight from Belagavi, Satish Jarkiholi — the PWD minister and state Congress working president, who is also a close Siddaramaiah associate and a CM aspirant — planned to take a group of 20 party MLAs from the region on a tour to see the Dasara festivities in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah’s home district, in what was seen as a signalling of their discontent. The Congress central leadership had to intervene and ask Jarkiholi to drop the plan, even as the episode evoked memories of a rebellion led by his elder brother Ramesh Jarkiholi against Shivakumar in 2019, which had led to the collapse of the then Congress-JDS coalition government.

A week earlier, on October 12-13, the Income Tax department raided the premises of the civil contractors in Bengaluru and seized about Rs 94 crore in cash. The Opposition BJP alleged that the unearthed cash was linked to the Congress. Although there has been no evidence to prove the charge so far, Shivakumar said the raids were “politically motivated” and that “IT raids are not conducted in BJP-ruled states”.

These developments have occurred even as Shivakumar has been positioning himself to stake his claim on the CM’s post on the back of a good Congress performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state. Meanwhile, his Congress rivals are attempting to keep him at bay to ensure a full term for Siddaramaiah or project another face as his successor.

A Congress MLA has written to the party high command to seek the appointment of three more Deputy CMs (DCMs) along with Shivakumar for “balancing castes”. The move is seen as an attempt by the Siddaramaiah camp, which enjoys the support of the major chunk of party MLAs, to keep Shivakumar in check.

“My party has to decide,” Shivakumar told media in Kochi in reply to a question on when he will “transform from kingmaker to king”.

“The Congress has been given five years for governance. The party will decide whatever it has to decide at the right time. We are not losing sleep. People may have wishes but our first priority is to provide good administration,” Shivakumar said.

He has also said his corruption case would be dealt with legally. “It was a political decision by Yediyurappa (former BJP CM) to provide a sanction for CBI prosecution in my case, even though the advocate general gave an opinion that there is no scope for it,” he said after the Karnataka HC allowed the CBI to probe his previous ministerial tenure.

“There are many cases of people from their own party (BJP) including MLAs which are not being probed. They (CBI) are saying that 90 per cent of the investigation is complete. I will discuss with my advocates and decide on the course of action,” he said.

On the BJP’s allegation that hoards of cash amounting to Rs 94 crore seized from civil contractors and real estate businessmen were meant to finance the Congress’s campaign in the upcoming polls in five states, Shivakumar said no direct links to anyone had been found. “The CBDT has given a statement on the seizures. No where has the names of the people who have been raided been mentioned. This is the answer to all my BJP friends and JD(S) friends,” he said.

The state Congress chief has also denied growing differences between him and other CM aspirants like Satish Jarkiholi. “There are no internal and external differences. I have no differences with anyone. Why should I have differences?” Shivakumar claimed.

Apparently in control of the party’s Belagavi section, Jarkiholi recently said that he is a contender for the top post but not in the current term, thus indicating a preference for Siddaramaiah’s continuance for a full term. “It is true that I have a desire to become the CM but that is after a few years, not immediately,” he said.

“I have compromised on a lot of matters in the last four months. It does not mean that there is any weakness. I have compromised for the sake of the party. We have a group of like-minded MLAs that have been together even before the polls,” Jarkiholi said.

He also claimed there is a proposal in the party to appoint more DCMs. “There is a discussion to make three DCMs and not me alone. It has to be discussed. I have not made a claim to be made a DCM. I am a minister and have a big portfolio and this requires a lot of time,” he said.

According to Congress insiders, Jarkiholi’s bid to show his strength by proposing to take 20 MLAs to Mysuru is linked to his concerns over Shivakumar and his associate Lakshmi Hebbalkar trying to sideline him in Belagavi politics. There are also concerns that he could soon be replaced as the Congress working president by other leaders from Belagavi, such as former BJP DCM Laxman Savadi, a long-term rival of the Jarkiholi brothers, who was brought to the Congress by Hebbalkar ahead of the May 2023 Assembly polls.

While Hebbalkar and Savadi are from the dominant Lingayat community, the Jarkiholis belong to the Scheduled Tribe Valmiki Nayak community, which has a strong presence in the region. The Jarkiholi brothers are with different parties but are known to have a common interest in keeping their hold on Belagavi politics.

“The intention of Satish Jarkiholi is not to create trouble for the party. Jarkiholi is eligible to be the CM and not just DCM. That is a different matter. We have raised the issue of appointing more DCMs with the high command. It is the high command that has to take a call,” Congress minister K N Rajanna said.