Amid rift buzz, Karnataka Cong plans events to ‘strengthen party’
According to leaders close to Siddaramaiah, these events were “conventions of oppressed classes” and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will likely be invited to inaugurate them
The state Congress face internal differences as a group of leaders have called the series of large-scale conventions aimed at mobilising support among Dalits, backward classes, and minorities as a strategic move to reinforce chief minister Siddaramaiah’s influence within the party and signal his dominance to both the Congress high command and deputy CM DK Shivakumar. However, the Congress has officially described as efforts to strengthen the party.
According to leaders close to Siddaramaiah, these events were “conventions of oppressed classes” and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will likely be invited to inaugurate them. On Monday, minister for cooperation KN Rajanna asserted that the Congress leadership had responded positively to the idea. Meanwhile, health minister HC Mahadevappa said that “CM Siddaramaiah is a mass leader, and which political party would say no to his leadership?”
The move comes after Congress decided to modify the rally held in Hassan in December last year. Initially planned as “Siddaramaiah Swabhimani Janandolana Samavesha” (Siddaramaiah Self-Respect Rally), the event was later renamed “Jana Kalyana Samavesha” (public welfare rally) under the party’s banner following directives from the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The shift in branding came allegedly after Shivakumar raised the matter with the high command, according to some leaders on condition on anonymity.
Shivakumar on Sunday cautioned against the overuse of Siddaramaiah’s name for political positioning. “Siddaramaiah is our leader. The Congress has made him the chief minister twice. Let us not misuse his name every single day, there is no need for that,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.
Minister Rajanna, in response, rejected any suggestion of political opportunism. “If something good happens to people, how is that misuse? What do you mean by misuse? I have no intention of misusing his name or making personal profit from it,” he clarified. Dismissing allegations of personal enrichment, he added, “Did I misuse the name and build four houses in Dollar’s Colony, Sadashivanagar, and Tumkur?”
Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad attempted to downplay the brewing tensions, reaffirming party unity. “There is no dispute about Siddaramaiah’s role as the power of our party,” he stated, urging the media to shift its focus to governance rather than internal party politics.
Rajanna, who has previously expressed openness to taking over as the Karnataka Congress president—a position currently held by Shivakumar—recently met AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi. Following the meeting, he reiterated his willingness to step down from his ministerial post if the party leadership wanted him to assume the role.
“We are not demanding a change of state president. After the Congress’s victory in the assembly elections, KC Venugopal issued a press release clearly stating that Siddaramaiah would continue as chief minister and Shivakumar as deputy chief minister,” Rajanna pointed out while questioning why Shivakumar continued as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.
Shivakumar did not give response to Rajanna’s remark.