DK Shivakumar or Siddaramaiah? Picking CMs is not a new dilemma for Congress

In Karnataka, the Congress is staring at its old dilemma again – who to pick as the chief minister? The Grand Old Party won the southern state with a thumping majority – 135 constituencies in the 224-member House, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which was reduced to 66 seats in the 10 May elections. Now, the million-dollar question is – DK Shivakumar or Siddaramaiah?

Both Congress heavyweights are chief minister hopefuls and according to reports have refused to yield. The Grand Old Party, which is in a conundrum in Karnataka, has faced this situation before in other states. Let’s take a closer look at what is going on and how Congress has dealt with similar situations before.

From Karnataka to Delhi

Congress veteran and Varuna MLA Siddaramiah reached Delhi earlier today (15 May) to meet the central leadership. Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, who was expected to be in the National Capital later in the day, has cancelled his trip citing ill health, as per an NDTV report.

When asked if this was seen as a rebellion, 61-year-old Shivakumar said, as per the report: “I won’t blackmail, that’s not me. Don’t perceive anything. I have my own presence of mind. I am not a child. I won’t fall in a trap”.

On Sunday, the Karnataka Congress Legislature Party’s (CLP) meeting passed a one-line resolution tasking the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge to select the new CLP leader, who will be the chief minister of the state.

According to Indian Express sources, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar want to bag the top post and have refused to budge.

Siddaramaiah who was initially hesitant to the idea of a power-sharing proposal, later agreed to rule for the first two years of the tenure and step aside for Shivakumar to take over the post for the remaining three years, as per News18 report.

However, the Vokkaliga leader rejected this plan citing the examples of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the report added.

Shivakumar, seen as Congress’ “troubleshooter”, has indicated that he has the support of Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, while Siddaramaiah – who has a pan-Karnataka appeal – is considered to be favoured by Rahul Gandhi, according to Indian Express.

As the suspense remains about who will wear the crown, the oath ceremony of the new chief minister is expected to take place on Thursday (18 May), as per media reports.

Rajasthan

The fissures in Congress’ Rajasthan unit continue to this day, with Sachin Pilot and chief minister Ashok Gehlot publicly attacking each other.

Their rivalry dates back to 2018 when the Congress came to power in the state. The party high command chose old warhorse Gehlot for the top post over Rahul Gandhi’s preference for Pilot, as per News18. The younger leader, who was also Congress’ state unit chief at the time, was placated by being made the deputy chief minister.

In July 2020, Pilot, along with 18 party MLAs, rebelled against the Gehlot government, plunging the state unit into a crisis. It was only after Rahul Gandhi’s intervention that the tussle was resolved, however, the discontent between Gehlot and Pilot never vanished.

Last September, when it was believed that the high command wanted Gehlot to replace Sonia Gandhi as the next Congress president and promote Sachin Pilot as the state chief minister, the supporters of the Sardarpura MLA staged a rebellion triggering a political crisis.

Following this, Gehlot succeeded in holding on to his job in Rajasthan and cutting Pilot’s ambition to size.

ALSO READ: Who will be the next Karnataka CM? The possibilities explained

Chhattisgarh

Troubles started brewing for the Congress in late 2021 when rifts in the Chhattisgarh unit emerged. As per India Today, a power-sharing formula was proposed at the time of appointing the chief minister after the party swept the state in the 2018 Assembly elections.

Under the plan, Bhupesh Baghel and the other hopeful, TS Singhdeo, were to reportedly hold the top post for two-and-a-half years each.

Charandas Mahant and Tamradhwaj Sahu were the other Congress chief minister candidates in 2018.

Like in the case of Pilot, Singhdeo’s supporters have alleged he has been targeted by his own party’s state government, noted Indian Express. 

In July last year, amid the power tussle with Baghel, Singhdeo gave up the crucial portfolio of Panchayat and Rural Development, citing non-sanction of funds under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana among other reasons.

Earlier in August 2021, Baghel camp MLAs had gone to Delhi to exert pressure on the high command to dissuade it from pursuing a leadership change in Chhattisgarh. After this show of strength, the Congress maintained the status quo with Baghel retaining his job.

Madhya Pradesh

After emerging as the single largest party in the 2018 Assembly elections and forming the government with the support of MLAs from other parties and Independents, the Congress chose Kamal Nath over the frontrunner Jyotiraditya Scindia for the top post.

However, the two remained at loggerheads, with Scindia repeatedly attacking Nath’s government over its “failure” to implement the party’s pre-poll promises, as per Hindustan Times.

In March 2020, Scindia finally quit Congress and joined the BJP. Another 22 MLAs, including six ministers, loyal to him tendered their resignations, leading to the collapse of the Nath government.

The BJP came to power in the state with Shivraj Singh Chouhan returning as the chief minister.

At the time, Digvijaya Singh had accused Chouhan of making attempts to topple the Nath-led government through horse trading.

The Congress has passed the first stage by winning the elections. But from what its history has shown, keeping its flock together after picking the chief minister and forming the government will be the next challenge for the Grand Old Party in Karnataka.

With inputs from agencies

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