Siddaramaiah vs Shivakumar: Surjewala to visit Karnataka soon

With no end to factional fights in Congress on the next Chief Ministerial candidate, AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, is expected to visit the state soon to hold discussion with local leaders.

Though the final date for Surjewala’s visit is yet to be decided, some of the state leaders have asked him to visit early amid the reports that former chief minister Siddaramaiah was preparing to hold a backward class rally to show his strength.

Surjewala told the state leaders that he would visit the state and will send detail tour programmes soon, sources in Congress told DH.

Also read: Congress seeks Yediyurappa's ouster after court order

Despite the Congress high command's strict instructions to the state leaders to not indulge in a debate on the next Chief Ministerial candidate, supporters of Siddaramaiah and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar continued to issue statements in favour of their respective leaders.

The Congress high command is worried over the divide in the party among old-timers and newcomers. The party also noticed that only Siddaramaiah was attending most of the ration kit distribution events, while Shivakumar had been maintaining distance from it.

Siddaramaiah’s meetings with some of the backward class leaders in an apparent revival of Ahinda (Minority, Backward Class and Dalit) movement too has not gone down well with many state leaders as they see this would further divide the party vote base.

Surjewala is also likely to discuss reconstituting the state office bearers.

Also read: D K Shivakumar asks Congress leaders to stop projecting Karnataka CM faces

Shivakumar recently urged former Congress President Rahul Gandhi as well as Surjewala to take steps to revamp district and block level office bearers.

With the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat, and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) elections due, the party top brass wanted the state unit to be revamped to fight the polls.

The party’s top leaders have also keenly observed Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar holding parallel meetings with state leaders apparently to woo them to their camp.

While most old-timers including former President G Parameshwara, Rajya Sabha Opposition Leader Mallikarjuna Kharge, State Working president R. Dhruvanarayana, are seen with Shivakumar, newcomers including former Ministers B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, H C Mahadevappa and former Union Minister C M Ibrahim are with Siddaramaiah.

With both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar aspiring to be the next Chief Ministerial candidate, the party is worried this would spoil the party's prospects as it is eying to encash infighting within the BJP.