Cong rift to the fore as Rahul arrives

As Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi arrives in Karnataka on Saturday for a two-day visit, he will, in all likelihood, witness bickerings within the party, especially after the resignation of Siddaramaiah as the leader of Opposition in the State.

Gandhi is scheduled to attend eight programmes in Hubli and Davangere before returning to Delhi on June 3. All senior Congress leaders of the State as well as Madhusudan Mistry, who is in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, are already in Hubli to welcome Rahul Gandhi. Siddaramaiah, till late on Friday evening, was not inclined to participate in the programmes.

The resignation has sent Congress leaders into a tizzy as the veteran leader is firm on “not reconsidering his resignation,” sources said. The high command has not yet accepted the resignation. Siddaramaiah, however, will continue in the party as MLA.

Siddaramaiah, who faxed his resignation to Sonia Gandhi and Mistry on Thursday night, said on Friday that he resigned since the party high command did not take him into confidence while finalising candidates for the council elections.

 In the letter dated May 31, Siddaramaiah also requested the Congress chief to forward his resignation to the Legislative Assembly Speaker. He did not go to Vidhana Soudha when four party candidates filed their nominations for the June 11 elections.

He joined the Congress in 2006 and is a prominent leader of the backward classes, a fact that favoured him during his induction into the party. Siddaramaiah is now upset because he failed to get a ticket to his follower C M Ibrahim.

Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah minced no words when he charged the high command with sidelining him. “I am highly humiliated. It is not good convention for me to continue as the CLP leader when I was not consulted over the selection of the candidates. I have not resigned just because of the denial of ticket to Ibrahim. I was told by the high command that Ibrahim would be considered. I do not know why it changed its mind. It has bypassed me. At least I should have been consulted. The post of CLP is very important. But the party has shown disrespect to the post,” he said.

Siddaramaiah, however, did not blame any individual, including Mallikharjun Kharge, for being sidelined.

Following the sudden resignation, senior Congress leaders, including KPCC President Parameshwara visited Siddaramaiah to persuade him to reconsider the decision. Even central leaders like Mistry and Oscar Fernandes tried to pacify him over the phone.