Why Siddaramaiah loyalists are raising their hands for Karnataka CM job

Though Deputy CM D K Shivakumar considers himself next in line for the top job, most of the names doing the rounds are considered to be close to Siddaramaiah, including Home Minister G Parameshwara, Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, Industries Minister M B Patil, and financial adviser to the CM Basavaraj Rayareddy.

These claims are being viewed within the party as the Siddaramaiah camp’s strategic ploy to keep Shivakumar at bay in case he decides to make a play. The Deputy CM, who is currently visiting the US, has publicly rallied behind the CM till now, ruling out any possibility of a change in government leadership. On Monday, his brother and former MP D K Suresh went a step further to say Siddaramaiah would complete his full term.

One of the triggers for the speculation about a change of guard was a closed-door meeting held between Shivakumar and Jarkiholi in late August, days after the Governor issued the prosecution sanction. Subsequently, both the leaders travelled separately to Delhi to meet the Congress leadership. Though the agenda of the meetings remains under wraps, they set off rumours of Siddaramaiah being replaced. Visits by other Karnataka ministers to Delhi were also interpreted as attempts to present their credentials to the high command as the next CM.

Apart from Shivakumar and Jarkiholi, senior Congress MLA R V Deshpande was among those who kept the debate over the issue alive. Responding to media queries, he told reporters last week that he was ready to be the CM if Siddaramaiah and the Congress leadership willed it.

On Monday, Rayareddy was of the view that he could become the CM if luck favoured him. “If the Congress wants a Lingayat leader from the Kalyana-Karnataka region to be the CM, then I am hopeful that Siddaramaiah will propose my name,” he said.

The public expression of these leaders’ aspirations has not sat well with a section of the state Congress. On Monday, MLCs Dinesh Gooligowda and Manjunath Bhandary shot off a letter to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking disciplinary action against such leaders. “Those who took charge as ministers should focus on implementing announcements made in the Budget … They should listen to the grievances of the public and respond to their problems. It is wrong to go around claiming to be aspirants for the CM’s post,” read the letter.

The BJP, the primary Opposition party, claimed the entire episode reflected the “rampant factionalism” in the Congress. “His (Siddaramaiah’s) party men are stabbing him in the back,” Leader of the Opposition R Ashok said on Monday. Pointing out none of the BJP MLAs had filed an RTI in the MUDA case, Ashoka said, “His party colleagues themselves brought out the documents.”

Former CM Basavaraj Bommai described the issue as a “full-fledged fight” among Congress leaders. In a sarcastic dig, he said on Monday, “I feel bad for Siddaramaiah. Congress leaders are competing for the post when he is occupying the chair. This indicates a lack of confidence in a leader.”

Jarkiholi and Parameshwara responded to the BJP’s comments, saying discussions on replacing the CM were unnecessary. Jarkiholi, like Suresh, maintained on Monday that Siddaramaiah would remain the CM for the full term. On Gooligowda and Bhandary’s letter to Kharge, Parameshwara said that since the “administration is running smoothly”, there is “no chance” of Siddaramaiah being replaced.

On Tuesday, Parameshwara said the Congress leaders in question had expressed a willingness to become CM when asked by the media. “‘When media persons ask whether you want to be the CM, why should we say no?’ is what my friends (Cabinet colleagues) told me. There is nothing more to that than this,” he said.