Dinesh Gundu Rao meets Rahul Gandhi, pitches for early call on KPCC rejig

Karnataka Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday met Rahul Gandhi and conveyed concerns over the delay in the organisational reshuffle, over three months after his resignation from the post.

Gundu Rao has been camping in the national capital since Friday morning and meeting AICC leaders to discuss the issue of leadership change in the Karnataka unit of the Congress.

D K Shivakumar also has been camping in the capital to meet Congress leaders.

Gudurao and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah had quit their respective posts in the aftermath of the party's dismal performance in the assembly bypolls in December last year, which were swept by the BJP.

The bypoll victories, where BJP had mostly fielded legislators who had ditched the Congress, put the otherwise delicately poised B S Yediyurappa government on a firmer footing.

“I briefed Rahul ji about the political situation in Karnataka and urged him to take a decision on the KPCC reshuffle soon,” Gundurao said after meeting the former Congress President.

The delay in the decision on the appointment of a new KPCC President and CLP leader is giving state leaders some anxious moments and leading to intense lobbying for the key posts.

Siddaramaiah has pitched for his confidant M B Patil, a prominent Lingayat leader, as the next KPCC President, while his rivals have backed former minister D K Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga stalwart, for the top post.

Siddaramaiah is keen on retaining the post of the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

Gundu Rao had also met Congress President Sonia Gandhi about a fortnight back to press for an early decision on the KPCC reshuffle.

The AICC leadership is understood to have completed the consultations with the state unit, but is yet to take a final call.