Ceasefire at the border rekindles conflict within Karnataka Congress | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: With tensions between India and Pakistan easing with the declaration of a ceasefire, conflicts and internal bickering has resumed in the two major national parties — governing Congress and principal opposition BJP — in Karnataka.Some members in both parties are pressing for a change at the helm.Senior Congress functionaries say the decision to go ahead with theSadhana Samavesha event — scheduled for May 20 in Hospet, Vijayanagara district to mark two years of the party in office — has kicked off rivalries between camps led by chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar.Besides talk over the unofficial “pact” that Shivakumar would replace Siddaramaiah as CM at the halfway mark of this govt’s five-year tenure, there is also bickering on the appointment of a new KPCC president and an impending reshuffle of the cabinet.Functionaries claim the party high command had promised to induct a new batch of MLAs into the cabinet after the govt crossed the halfway mark. They say this is why Siddaramaiah filled all 34 ministerial berths when he formed the govt in May 2023.Seniors including Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and Shivakumar, also KPCC president, had previously suggested as much when they said in public forums that the current set of ministers must make way for those who did not get an opportunity earlier.A large section of MLAs intends to remind Rahul and the party’s high command of this promise when he visits for the Sadhana Samavesha.”As elected representatives, we obviously aspire for ministerial posts so that we serve our constituents better,” said PM Narendra Swamy, Malavalli MLA and chairman of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. “We will raise the issue at the proper forum. However, we will abide by the decision of the high command.”While a huge contingent of fresh faces is hoping for a ministerial berth, many seniors, including UT Khader, currently serving as speaker of the assembly, former minister RV Deshpande, former deputy chief minister Lakshman Savadi and legislators like Shivalinge Gowda, Vinay Kulkarni, and Appaji Nagagouda are also hoping to make the transition. However, the hitch is that incumbent ministers are unwilling to vacate their posts.While Shivakumar’s supporters like Channagiri MLA Shivagganga Basavaraj insist Siddaramaiah will have to make way for “their leader”, the CM’s loyalists, including urban development minister Byrathi Suresha, have said Siddaramaiah will continue in his present position for the full term.”As ministers, we cannot comment on a cabinet reshuffle or appointment of CM since it is the high command’s decision,” said food and civil supplies minister KH Muniyappa. “However, I think all of us, except a few first-time ministers who need more time to prove their mettle, may consider making way for others.”In BJP, the friction over the state president is intensifying as the detractors of incumbent BY Vijayendra are still pressing for his replacement, while his supporters maintain that the high command has promised to reaffirm his position.
