CM decision likely today: Most newly-elected MLAs back Siddaramaiah
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | |
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | |
A day after the party’s 135 MLAs passed a one-line resolution authorising AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to choose the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, the suspense continued on Monday, as both state party president D K Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stood their ground amid intense lobbying for the post of Chief Minister.While Siddaramaiah has emerged as the frontrunner, with majority of the newly elected MLAs learnt to have named him as their choice, Shivakumar played hardball, putting off his visit to Delhi where the action has shifted. Shivakumar’s brother and Lok Sabha MP, D K Suresh, met Kharge on his behalf instead.While a final decision is expected to be announced on Tuesday, the central leadership is yet to convince Shivakumar to accept the settlement. Shivakumar, who cited a stomach infection for cancelling his Delhi trip on Monday, is expected to reach the capital on Tuesday.Kharge met the three observers sent by him and AICC in-charge of the state, Randeep Surjewala, on Monday. He also had a meeting with AICC general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal. The observers — Sushil Kumar Shinde, AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh and former general secretary Deepak Babaria — conveyed to Kharge the outcome of the “secret ballot” that they conducted Sunday night among the MLAs in Bengaluru.Sources said majority of the MLAs have cited Siddaramaiah as their choice. The MLAs were asked to either write one name of their choice, or more than one name according to their order of preference, or just ‘high command’ if they wanted the leadership to decide. The exercise was over well after midnight.According to state party sources, 90 of the 135 MLAs indicated their support for Siddaramaiah after the former Chief Minister pressed the Congress observers to seek the MLAs’ individual opinions. The Shivakumar group is reported to have desisted from expressing an opinion, leaving the choice to the high command.Surjewala said the party will announce its decision by Tuesday evening. “The observers have submitted the report to the Congress president. We will hold consultations with all senior state leaders, including Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, and a decision will be taken after that by the Congress president,” he said.Confident that he has the numbers, Siddaramaiah reached Delhi by evening. Several MLAs who are known to be his close supporters, like M B Patil, R V Deshpande, Zameer Ahmed, K J George, Ashok Pattan and Byrathi Suresh, also reached Delhi to show support.In Bengaluru, Shivakumar admitted that he did not have the numbers, but underlined that it was his hard work that won the party 135 seats. He reiterated that he had taken over the state party unit’s leadership at a difficult time and had delivered the state as promised to then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, signalling that it was time to reward him.“I am a single man. I do not have the numbers. I will not talk about the numbers on my side. I am not here for worship of individuals, but of the party. I have 135 MLAs of the party with me. I am the state party president… The number we have today is 135,” he said.“I don’t have any personal number. Whatever the number, it is the Congress number… I had assured Sonia Gandhi when she appointed me, had assured Rahul Gandhi, Kharge… that my aim is to deliver Karnataka to the Congress party. Even at the conclave in Udaipur, Raipur (AICC session), we assured that we will work unitedly and deliver the Karnataka government to Delhi. That is what we assured,” he said.“I don’t have the strength to speak about others’ numbers, my strength is 135. I am the party president and, under my presidency, the party has won 135 seats in Karnataka, against the double-engine government, the corrupt administration,” he said.“I don’t want to answer any claims or anything. I’m a single man, I believe in one thing, that a single man with courage makes a majority. I have proved it. I don’t want to disclose what all has happened in the last five years… At a future point of time, I will disclose,” he said.Pointing out that the CLP passed a single-line resolution on Sunday, leaving the decision to the high command, the KPCC chief said: “Under my leadership, 135 MLAs, all of them with one voice, have said that the matter should be left to high command.”“Gandhiji said one thing: Be bold-hearted when you are defeated and large-hearted when you are victorious. When 15-16 of our MLAs left the party (in 2019), when we had a coalition government and lost it, I did not lose my heart. With courage, I took up the responsibility (as KPCC president),” he said.Responding to queries on claims by the Siddaramaiah camp that it had the support of majority of the Congress MLAs, the KPCC chief said he was not bothered about what others were doing. “I do not have any MLAs and I am not taking anyone to Delhi. There are 135 MLAs with the Congress, let anyone take any number of MLAs with them. I will not take anyone with me. I do not need anyone’s support. I have done my job,” he said.“You have all called me a rock. I have said the rock can be prayed to or destroyed. You do what you want with the rock, you can break it and make it a pillar, a statue or stones. I have told party workers that you should make me whatever you want and we should go to the steps of the Vidhana Soudha. Let them use me in any way they feel,” he said.“I am conscious of time. I have patience. I am willing to fight it out. We have used all the tactics in our arsenal to be successful,” he said.Meanwhile, Surjewala said the party elicited the opinions of all the 138 MLAs – 135 Congress, one ally, and two Independents supporting the party.Although the Congress has indicated that the new CM will be sworn in by Thursday, a formal announcement will only be made after consulting Shivakumar, who is reported to have maintained that he should be given the CM’s post and nothing less. The party hopes to placate him, and various proposals are on the table for discussions with him.In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress scored a resounding victory with 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19 seats, respectively.