“It is left to the decision of the high command but after two-and-a-half years, he (Shivakumar) becoming CM is guaranteed. There are no two ways about it,” Ganiga told reporters in Davanagere.
Treading cautiously, he added that Siddaramaiah too was doing good work but it was inevitable that Shivakumar would occupy the top chair soon.
After the 10 May Karnataka assembly elections, both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah had staked claim to the CM’s chair, but the latter came out on top and assurances were given to the former that he would be given a chance at the helm later.
While the Congress high command never made any public statement on the subject, sources in the party had confirmed the same to ThePrint at the time.
There are other claimants to the state top chair too, but the Shivakumar camp seems certain that the incumbent state Congress president will get his turn at the helm of affairs soon.
With the 2024 Lok Sabha elections coming up, however, Shivakumar has been trying to keep his party leaders in check.
“No matter who the legislator is, no one should give statements before the media about the internal matters of the party and issues about the government. After all this, we would have no option but to issue notices to them,” he told reporters in Bengaluru Saturday.
But this has not stopped party leaders from publicly expressing their loyalties, and adding to an already growing divide within the state Congress unit.
ThePrint reached Shivakumar over phone for comment on the speculated rift within the Karnataka Congress, the article will be updated if a response is received.
While Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have both in the past dismissed any reports of divide, Congress sources blamed the BJP for its internal quarrels, terming it the “opposition’s ploy” to fuel a divide within the party.
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‘Overlooked for cabinet berth’
Ever since Siddaramaiah took office, quiet discontent has been brewing within the state Congress, according to sources within the party.
Shivakumar has claimed credit for the party winning a massive victory in Karnataka, and by extension, sought dues from the party to become CM, people aware of developments told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah made it clear that this will be his last term in active politics and has used this to his advantage so far, they said.
Though Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have kept a lid on their differences, people aware of developments told ThePrint the latter was getting impatient with leaders making statements in the public.
Pattan, Jarkiholi, and Rajanna have previously hinted at a change in CM or cabinet expansion.
“Several party MLAs have expressed concern that they are often overlooked for cabinet berths. Only those who have been ministers before are being given a chance repeatedly,” Pattan, a three-time Congress MLA from Ramdurg, told ThePrint last week. Pattan is considered a close aide of Siddaramaiah.
“All decisions on the cabinet are being taken by the high command and we have been assured of a ministerial berth after 2.5 years,” he added.
When the cabinet was formed in May, several of those who didn’t make it were said to have been assured of being accommodated at a later time.
The “later time”, one Congress leader said, referred to the possibility of a change in CM and with it, the cabinet as well.
The many discontents
Talking to the media Saturday, Jarkiholi said, “Whether the CM will be changed or not has not been discussed at our level”.
He added, however, that there was nothing wrong in sharing individual aspirations to be inducted into the cabinet which cannot be construed as “anti-party”.
“There are many people (leaders) who will say this, some communities will demand better representation for its leaders. (Leaders) will share their views in speeches and other places which cannot be seen as anti-party activities,” he said.
Two weeks ago, the Congress high command had stopped the Belagavi strongman and public works department minister from traveling with 20 legislators towards Mysuru.
Though Jarkiholi had said the trip was meant to observe the Mysuru Dasara — a 10-day festival culminating on Vijaya Dashami — people aware of developments said it was the minister flexing his muscle and registering his disappointment over fund allocation to his district.
Jarkiholi, who is also the working president of the Karnataka Congress, is considered close to Siddaramaiah and is believed to have some unresolved issues with Shivakumar.
The tiff between the two goes back in time and had led to the disgruntlement and the eventual mass exodus of MLAs from the then Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2019, according to party sources.
Shivakumar’s alleged “interference” into Belagavi’s internal issues at that time had seen stiff resistance from Jarkiholi and his brother Ramesh, who was then in the Congress. Ramesh later became a catalyst in the 2019 defection drama, and herded a total of 17 MLAs to quit the coalition government. Most of them later joined the BJP.
The Jarkiholis, sugar barons who have kept Belagavi under their influence for at least two decades now, have also made no secret of their problem with Laxmi Hebbalkar, Karnataka’s minister for women and child development. Hebbalkar is considered a close aide of Shivakumar.
The Shivakumar-Siddaramaiah camps have taken turns to hit out at the other or speak out of turn with respect to the “next CM” debate, often compounding its own problems before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Is the CM’s seat vacant? There is a CM. Is there any post lying vacant? When the CM is there, this question is irrelevant,” Mahadevappa, Karnataka’s minister for social welfare, told reporters Sunday. “Siddaramaiah is functioning as the CM,” he added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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