Faultlines in Karnataka Congress re-emerge as ministers and Shivakumar’s brother spar over power-sharing

“AICC general secretary (K C) Venugopal has said in a news conference…. that Siddaramaiah will remain CM for five years,” Patil said recently. This did not go down well with Suresh and he retorted, “I can respond to M B Patil. But tell him (such statements are) not necessary.”

There were also reports of a public spat between them at the Vidhana Soudha following a recent cabinet meeting, where the two are said to have had an angry exchange of words.

Next was Mahadevappa, who told reporters at a media interaction in Mysuru on Sunday that Siddaramaiah “will continue as chief minister”. “He is the chief minister. He will continue as chief minister,” the minister added.

Suresh reacted sharply again. “I don’t know why he is making such remarks. He is a mature leader with a lot of ideologies and his own political strength. He is working as a senior minister now. I think he is more interested in other issues than working as a minister. That’s why he could be saying these things. What more can I say?” he told a news conference.

Asked about Mahadevappa’s remarks, Siddaramaiah said he did not know what the minister had said.

And for his part, Jarkiholi said that Siddaramaiah was the chief minister and “nobody had said that (his tenure) was for half the term”. He will likely continue as the chief minister, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Suresh, who has started asserting his position in the state Congress ranks since the Assembly polls, told reporters Saturday that he was undecided about contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “I have not taken any call on contesting elections. I have to ask party workers and leaders. If there is a suitable candidate, I am ready to back them,” he said, adding that he has “had enough” of politics and that he wanted “to provide chances to other people”.

On Sunday, asked whether he had communicated his decision to the party leadership, he said, “It is enough if I bring it to the attention of my voters. Why should I bring it to the attention of party leaders? Party leaders will give me a ticket if I apply. If I don’t, they will find someone else.”

These remarks, along with his spats with senior Congress ministers, sent political circles abuzz with speculations about the MP pushing the case of his brother Shivakumar’s claim to the CM post. The Congress high command has not announced any power-sharing agreement. Suresh’s statement hinting at political retirement was also interpreted as a mark of protest over not appointing Shivakumar as the chief minister.

The Congress, which had not announced a chief ministerial candidate ahead of the polls owing to the factionalism between the Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar camps, waited five days after the May 13 results to appoint Siddaramaiah as chief minister, for the second time. Shivakumar too staked a claim to the top post, leading to a logjam. The high command, in the end, came up with a compromise formula by offering him the deputy chief minister post and two powerful portfolios.

Though Venugopal was asked about a “power-sharing agreement” when Siddaramaiah was announced as chief minister and Shivakumar as his deputy, he said the power-sharing “will only happen with the people of Karnataka”, which did little to dispel rumours about the matter.

Responding to the spat between ministers and the MP, Congress sources said the MP was asserting his position. “His statement of being uninterested to contest the polls and his spat with ministers are not linked,” said a Congress leader, blaming it instead on the factionalism in the party.

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When contacted, state Congress working president Saleem Ahmed told The Indian Express that Suresh was the only party MP from the state. “He is an important leader of the party. The Congress would definitely want him to contest,” he said.