Bengaluru: Even while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar continue to put up a `friendly gesture', sharing dais at Shidlaghatta on Monday, the power tiff between the two gained momentum with LOP Rahul Gandhi returning from his abroad trip.
While D K Shivakumar's long term friend and MLC B K Hariprasad called upon Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, a fresh team of around eight MLAs, all Shivakumar supporters have landed in Delhi. Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah supporters have been preparing to hold `AHINDA' (Minorities, Backward Class and Dalits) rallies in the state against any move to change the leadership.
On Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he would continue to be chief minister if the party high command asks him to continue. Otherwise, everyone would have to listen to the party high command.
Though Siddaramaiah camp had been trying to stall power transfer for the last six months, D K Shivakumar had ensured that his camp did not speak a word. However, on Nov 20, he sent a team of his supporters to Delhi to send sufficient signals that he was out to get what was promised to him in 2023. Despite his brother D K Suresh directly telling Siddaramaiah to `stand by the promises he made', Shivakumar continued to say that he would obey the orders of the party high command. HOwever, six of his supporters -- Iqbal Hussain, Nayana Motamma, Mahendra Thammannanavar, Basavaraj Shivaganga, H C Balakrishna, Kadalur Uday Gowda, Baba Saheb Patil and Sharath Bacche Gowda reached Delhi on Monday morning.
Though AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge was in Bengaluru for two days, Shivakumar did not meet him or say anything about power transfer. Only Siddaramaiah called upon Kharge and said that it was a courtesy call. While Siddaramaiah supporters went on floating `Dalit or Backward Class Chief Minister' in case of leadership change, Shivakumar did not utter a word. Shivakumar is waiting for the party high command to stand by its promise made in 2023, to make him the chief minister for the second half of the term.
Meanwhile, opposition leader R Ashok created a controversy saying that the Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar camps were busy in purchasing their own MLAs. Ashok said that each MLA was being offered ₹ 50 lakh cash, an apartment and a car.
Reacting sharply to the allegations, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that Congress did not have the culture of purchasing MLAs. Reminding him of `Operation Lotus' in Karnataka, where the BJP had twice resorted to lure MLAs from opposition parties, Shivakumar said that only BJP knew how to purchase MLAs and not Congress.
