It is a matter of relief for the party to decide on the name of the Chief Minister in Karnataka due to the efforts of the central leadership of Congress. Since May 13 till now, both senior Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar have been projecting themselves as better candidates than each other for the post of Chief Minister.
On last Sunday i.e. May 14, it was decided that party president Mallikarjun Kharge would decide the post of Chief Minister, after that both the leaders came to Delhi and the central leadership of the party tried to make both of them agree by finding several formulas for sharing of power. . But the matter did not work because both were keeping their own conditions. Siddaramaiah first put a condition that he cannot share power with DK Shivakumar. He argued that the Chief Minister has many responsibilities to perform, so if he does not have authority over important ministries, he will not be able to perform his responsibilities well. That’s why he will keep Home, PWD, Finance and Energy departments with him. Not only this, Siddaramaiah also put a condition that why three Deputy Chief Ministers can be made only one. DK Shivkumar, who had earlier projected himself as the Chief Minister’s contender, had forgotten the significance of the assurance given by the party’s top leader Sonia Gandhi. Now he bluntly said that if he does not get the post of Chief Minister, then he should get the post of party president and only Deputy Chief Minister. After many efforts, it was decided that the Chief Minister would be Siddaramaiah and the only Deputy Chief Minister would be DK Shivakumar.
It is true that both Shivkumar and Siddaramaiah, the contenders for the post of Chief Minister, had clearly stated that if he did not become the Chief Minister, he would not be an MLA either. But from the point of view of caste mass base, both are influential leaders. That’s why it was necessary for both to agree. This is the reason that the top leadership had to make many formulas which could prove difficult to implement in future.
The central leadership handed over the formula to Siddaramaiah to hold the post of Chief Minister for the first 2 years and Shivakumar for the next 3 years, then Shivakumar said that he agreed with this formula but it should be declared publicly. The central leadership had earlier succeeded in ending the feud for the post of Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan with this formula, but later such discord broke out because the one who became the Chief Minister started considering his counterpart as a rival.
Jyotiraditya Sidhiya realized this earlier, so he left PATA without relying on this formula, but in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan both the Chief Ministers, namely T.S. Singh Deo and Sachin Pilot to realize how difficult it is for the other to step down once sworn in and the top leadership also refrains from interfering. However, there is no leadership crisis in Karnataka, but Shivakumar’s appointment as Speaker till the parliamentary elections and his MP brother DK Suresh’s comment that his family is not satisfied with whatever decision has been taken, it remains to be seen what happens next. The challenge for Siddaramaiah is that if he does anything against the interests of his rival leaders in the party, the government may be in trouble. Once again the central leadership will be forced to play an important role. (sp)
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