Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah faces the stiffest challenge of his political career with the unravelling of the MUDA scam and Governor Thawar Chand Gahlot granting permission to prosecute him. The case involves allegations of corruption and irregular allocation of land supposedly earmarked for Dalits by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to Siddaramaiah's wife. As charges pile up, the scam threatens to derail his illustrious reign in Karnataka. While the Opposition BJP and JD-S are baying for his blood, the Congress in a rare show of unity is completely backing the CM, who has denied all allegations of wrong doing. Amidst demands for his resignation, the Congress is standing firm, with even his staunch rival for the chief ministership DK Shivakumar backing Siddaramaiah to the hilt.
The Grand Old Party is no mood to change the CM as it would be a sign of weakness that would affect the momentum it has built with its relatively good performance in the 2024 general election and ahead of crucial Assembly polls in four states. Also in Karnataka, caste equations are all important and Siddaramaiah who hails from the backward Kuruba caste has the support of Lingayats, Vokkaligas and the AHINDA (the Kannada acronym for minorities, backwards and Dalits), as well as seers belonging to several mutts. The Congress cannot afford to let its guard down in Karnataka as the BJP is waiting in the wings for another ‘Operation Lotus’ that it so successfully implemented after the 2019 election. Any change of leadership may trigger a revolt and it would be easy for the BJP to engineer defections. The Congress has to keep its flock together in order to ensure that there is no repeat of 2019. Factionalism has been the bane of the party and it was only by skillfully managing contradictions that it succeeded in improving its tally substantially in 2024.
With assembly elections due in four states, where the Congress is hoping to do well, any sign of weakness may well prove to be detrimental to the progress it has made as the leading force of the Opposition INDIA bloc. It is in this context that the removal of Siddaramaiah will be an absolute last resort for the Grand Old Party. It is only if the courts find the Karnataka CM guilty that the party will be forced to take a stand. The Karnataka CM’s continuance hangs in the balance but the credit for the exposure of the alleged scam must go to committed individuals who have been working tirelessly to uncover corrupt practices and bring those who govern to task. Civil society has been a strong force in Karnataka and it is this spirit of courage and fearlessness that has proved a boon for the state’s citizens.
