'Removing OBC CM will hurt Congress in 2028 polls': Basavaraj Bommai on leadership change buzz in Karnataka

BJP MP targets Congress cover the ongoing developments in the State and says the party has never told the truth to people.

BJP MP and former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai has criticised the Congress over the ongoing leadership crisis in the State and said that removing an OBC Chief Minister will create a crisis for the party in the 2028 Legislative Assembly elections.

He was referring to the possible removal of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who belongs to the other backward classes (OBC) community. "Whenever a Chief Minister is removed, it has an effect. If an OBC leader is removed, the OBC people will be unhappy. This will create a lot of problems for the Congress in the 2028 Assembly elections."

Bommai said the leadership crisis in the Congress began the day Siddaramaiah was named the Chief Minister in 2023. "The problem originated the day Siddaramaiah was chosen as the Chief Minister. It was not a unanimous selection. For the last three years, they have been talking about a change of power. They have neglected the people of Karnataka. Marathon meetings (like the one held in Delhi on Tuesday by the Congress high command) show that not everything is well within the ruling party in Karnataka," he told ANI.

He claimed that Siddaramaiah, who was with the Janata Parivar before joining the Congress in 2006, was no longer the "rebel" he was once and had been "compromised" now.

"He has always taken the help of well-oiled machine of the party, be it the Janata Dal or the Congress, and manipulated his way up," he alleged.

On being asked about the Congress denying any speculation of a change of Chief Minister, he said, "The Congress never told the truth to people. Who will buy what they say? I don't think there will be a smooth transfer of power, if it happens."

The BJP MP said, "If Rahul Gandhi removes OBC leader (Siddaramaiah), it will prove that he is not for the OBCs." He said such a decision by Rahul Gandhi would impact the I.N.D.I.A. bloc as OBC leaders in the alliance would not take the decision kindly.

He criticised the Congress government's administration and questioned whether a leadership change would improve governance. "The administration in Karnataka has collapsed. No development work is being done. The people are suffering. I don't think D K Shivakumar has a magic wand to change this. The deterioration which started at the time of Siddaramaiah will continue with Shivakumar. By the end of their term, the government will be in shambles, and the State will be in a poor condition," Bommai said.

He said ruling party would pay the price for alleged maladministration in the next election. "We (BJP) have been raising this issue, but there are a lot of power-hungry people in the Congress who are not bothered about what the Opposition or the people say. This is why they (Congress) will pay the price in the next elections."