Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Jan 31: The tough stands owned by senior leaders in Karnataka on the issue of choosing a new president for Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has created stalemate in the selection process. The central leaders of the party have not been able to arrive at a decision even though the issue is dangling since the last six weeks.
Some senior leaders of the party, who were determined to strip former chief minister Siddaramaiah, of both the posts of the leader of the opposition and the leader of Congress legislature party, now seem to have taken the issue of selecting KPCC president as a matter of prestige.
Siddaramaiah (left) and D K Shivakumar
As per information, some senior leaders including Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad are hell bent on giving the post of KPCC president to D K Shivakumar. Leaders like K H Muniyappa and B K Hariprasad are making efforts to get this post for themselves.
In between this melee, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, has fallen silent. In terms of politics, both Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyank Kharge will stand to benefit if M B Patil becomes KPCC president. Lingayat community in that part of the state has distanced itself from the Congress. If Patil becomes president, this community is likely to tilt towards the Congress again, as per political analysts. It is said that Siddaramaiah too has used this argument in favour of M B Patil.
Dr G Parameshwar wants to occupy the position of the leader of the Congress legislature party if the post of the leader of the opposition cannot be given to him. In the meanwhile, he also has argued that if Shivakumar cannot be made KPCC president, he should at least be offered the post of the leader of the Congress legislature party. But Muniyappa and Hariprasad are demanding the post of the KPCC president.
Ahmed Patel, reminding other leaders about various occasions on which Shivakumar acted as a saviour for the party, is insisting that Shivakumar should be the KPCC president. These pulls and pushes have confused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders and they are not in a position to take a firm stand now.
It is said that the discussions now having centred on the post of the KPCC president has come as a blessing in disguise for Siddaramaiah. Because of the environment of animosity, Siddaramaiah is likely to be retained as the leader of the opposition for now and he too may drop his insistence of also retaining the post of the leader of the Congress legislature party in addition to the above post. It is said that he shifted his residence to the government quarters allocated to the leader of the opposition as he is sure to retain this post.