'It is a never-ending soap opera': BJP's R Ashoka on Karnataka power tussle row, asks Congress to focus on governance

Bengaluru: Karnataka Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka on Friday decried the power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar as a “never-ending soap opera”.

In a statement, Ashoka asked the Congress to focus on governance.

“While the Congress leadership in Delhi watches silently, Karnataka is paying the price for a never-ending power tussle between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar,” Ashoka said.

Ashoka clarified that the BJP had no interest in the internal politics of Congress. “But when this never-ending ego clash begins to paralyse governance, it becomes our duty to speak,” he said.

The BJP leader also took a dig at fresh buzz about Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s chief ministerial prospects. “For more than 1,000 days, the state has seen a government that is distracted, divided, and directionless. And now, the latest twist - rumours of Kharge being ‘deployed’ from Delhi to fix Bengaluru, only confirms one thing: total leadership failure in the state,” Ashoka said.

Ashoka said the “so-called Congress high command” seemed “so weak that it can’t manage its own party”. Amid the power tussle, Ashoka said infrastructure was crumbling, investments slowing and governance collapsing.

“People of Karnataka did not vote for a 5-year factional wrestling match. They voted for a stable, functioning government,” Ashoka said. “It’s time Congress stops treating Karnataka like personal property and starts governing, or admits it has failed.”