Karnataka polls: Congress boat still steady, but there are ripples beneath the surface

Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, on whose invitation Srinivasamurthy joined the Congress from the JD(S) in 2013, raised his case with the party central leadership, but there was no equivocal response, and Srinivasamurthy left.

A day later, the Congress ticket from Pulakeshinagar went to A C Srinivasa, who is linked to the camp of state Congress president D K Shivakumar.

Srinivasamurthy openly blamed Shivakumar for what had transpired, accusing him of using a “fake report” to conclude he was facing strong anti-incumbency. “Siddaramaiah and Zameer Ahmed stood with me in the Congress,” Srinivasamurthy added.

Now the big question is whether Zameer Ahmed Khan, who commands the respect of the large Muslim community in the constituency, and whose alliance with Srinivasamurthy going back to their JD(S) days delivered the big victory from the seat for the Congress in 2018, will back official Congress candidate Srinivasa or Srinivasamurthy.

The Pulakeshinagar episode is a prime example of the deep divisions running within the Congress between the factions of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, which are the party’s main worry ahead of the May 10 polls. The central Congress leadership has managed to paper over some of the divisions, including via the presence of a constant minder like Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala. But things remain on the razor’s edge between the two leaders.

Fortunately for the Congress, this friction has largely escaped attention in the more high-profile BJP fights and departures from the party of leaders from dominant communities like the Lingayats, and names like former CM Jagadish Shettar and ex-deputy CM Laxman Savadi.

In another episode, former JD(S) leader Y S V Datta, who joined the Congress recently and was aspiring for the Kadur seat, was linked to a leaked audio where he was heard saying it would be difficult for him to accept the leadership of Shivakumar.
“In that seat (Kadur), the deciding factor is Siddaramaiah. For me, Siddaramaiah’s words are ultimate… if I am asked as an MLA who I would want as a leader, I would say Siddaramaiah,” he was heard saying in a tape played by television channels.

Days after, Datta’s name was missing from the candidate list for Kadur. While Datta is a Brahmin, the Congress went with B S Anand, from the Kuruba OBC community to which Siddaramaiah also belongs and which is dominant in the Kadur seat. Not only did this leave Siddaramaiah with little wiggle room, but Datta also promptly went back to the JD(S). The JD(S), Datta is hoping, will get him support of the Vokkaligas, another key community in the region.

Publicly, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have kept appearances up, with the party adding the extra polish. “I want to tell state leaders that it does not matter to me who will become the CM. I want the Congress to win in Karnataka. The MLAs and high command will decide the CM,” AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge said on April 16, when Rahul Gandhi was in Karnataka.

Surjewala earlier publicly rebuked Zameer Ahmed’s remarks that no one can become CM relying on the votes of just one community – which was seen as a jibe at Shivakumar.

In February this year, the Congress leadership directed Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to campaign separately in different parts of the state to cater to their vote constituencies. And presumably to avoid any unseemly war of words.

The battle of one-upmanship between the Congress’s tallest leaders in the state has been brewing for long, heating up with approaching polls. If Siddaramaiah sent a message with a massive rally on August 3, 2022, to mark his 75th birth anniversary, where Rahul was present, Rahul sent his own signal from the dais by gesturing to Shivakumar to hug Siddaramaiah.

An associate of the former CM said: “It was an indicator to Siddaramaiah that the central leadership was inclined towards him. This served as a motivation.”

Shivakumar has been pitching his candidature in the southern districts of Karnataka, telling voters that he stands a chance of becoming CM if the Vokkaliga community to which he belongs votes for the Congress in the region.

With the Siddaramaiah camp seen as having had its say in ticket distribution, Shivakumar threw another pebble into the mix recently, when he said he would be willing to work under Kharge, also a Karnataka veteran, as CM.

One reason Shivakumar can’t push too hard is the charges against him in various money laundering cases, a CBI investigation in a disproportionate assets case and charges of income tax violations, on which he has mostly obtained temporary relief from courts.

Some in the party worry that the balance that is hanging by a thread between the two camps might break any time under the weight of Lingayat leaders the Congress has acquired from the BJP.

Plus, given the many caste and tribulations, could the Congress be sacrificing its own vote base to capture the vote base of the BJP, its rivals ask. “Going by Rahul Gandhi’s preachings, I thought INC was an inclusive party and did not make caste-specific appeals. Anyway with the return of ‘tall’ Lingayat leaders what will happen to your Vokkaliga, Kuruba and Dalit leadership,” BJP Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh posted on social media.