Bengaluru: Karnataka CM post war between incumbent Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar appears to be reaching a flash point, with Siddaramaiah visiting Delhi on Nov 15, a day after Bihar Assembly poll results.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah admitted that he would be seeking permission from the party high command for cabinet reshuffle and the decision of high command would be final with this regard.
At the moment, Siddaramaiah is testing waters with the party high command. If the high command agrees for a cabinet reshuffle, it would mean that he will be the Chief Minister for the next five years. If the high command talks about power sharing, Siddaramaiah has a different strategy.
There is a thinking in the party high command to summon Siddaramaiah for Delhi politics. However, Siddaramaiah is not interested and he would cite the reason that he was not fluent with either English or Hindi. Besides, to step down, Siddaramaiah may propose a dalit or backward class Chief Minister to succeed him. Though Siddaramaiah is hoping support from AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge for this proposal and Rahul Gandhi's approval, even he knows that the chances of this plan succeeding is remote. The only hope for him is that Rahul Gandhi approves cabinet reshuffle and signalling Siddaramaiah leadership in Karnataka for a full term.
For the last few months, Siddaramaiah and his supporters contended that he would complete the five years term. Besides, his supporters claimed that, in case of leadership change, the next chief minister will be either a dalit or from a backward community leader. The statement war continued despite warning from the party high command, not to issue public statements over leadership issues.They also contended that the decision of the legislature party was final, implying that D K Shivakumar donot command support of the legislature party.
However, only D K Shivakumar and his supporters followed the instructions of the party high command and maintained silence. Even for those who violated and issued public statements, Shivakumar, who is also KPCC President, is issuing notices.
Now, everyone knows that the ball is in the high command court. As a last ditch effort to exhibit their strength, Siddaramaiah supporters are holding a meeting at the residence of dismissed minister K N Rajanna in Tumkur. The meeting will be held on Nov 7, during inauguration of the government medical college hospital in Tumkur. Though the Chief Minister and all the cabinet ministers will be present in Tumkur on that day, D K Shivakumar will be on tour to Delhi and Bihar.
