Eyeing Bihar, Congress messages with OBC panel role for Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: The Congress' decision to include Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a national-level advisory council on backward classes could turn into a platform for him to further consolidate his position amid a leadership tussle with his deputy D K Shivakumar. 

Siddaramaiah is the only OBC chief minister the Congress has in India. 

The first meeting of the AICC advisory council, which comprises top OBC faces of the Congress from across the country, is scheduled in Bengaluru on July 15.

That he gets to host this maiden meeting indicates that the party high command wants him in the hot seat until later this year when elections are due in Bihar, where OBC votes are crucial. 

Ahead of the Bihar polls, the Congress cannot afford to be seen as driving out Siddaramaiah, its OBC champion in Karnataka, according to one observer. 

Last week, the CM publicly said he would remain CM for the full term of this government, which was followed by Shivakumar meekly conceding that he had no option but to support the incumbent. 

Siddaramaiah's statement also coincided with Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala starting his one-on-one meetings with party MLAs. 

"The CM thought that Surjewala was asking MLAs for their opinion on a change in leadership. So, the very next day, he said he'd be the CM for the full five-year term. It was his message to our party," a senior Congress leader told DH. 

Having built a career by mobilising support from the Ahinda (minorities, backward classes and Dalits), Siddaramaiah's membership in the AICC advisory council will help him strengthen his stature, the senior leader quoted above said.

The advisory council is likely to discuss a roadmap for the Congress to woo backward classes on the back of Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's shrill campaign for a nationwide caste census. 

Following his membership in the advisory council, speculation grew that he might be given a national role. The CM denied this. Apparently, he was once offered the role of AICC general secretary, which he declined. 

Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, the CM's loyalist, said Congress wants to make use of Siddaramaiah's experience. "That doesn't mean he'll step down as CM and move to national politics," he said.