New AICC president must address interests of Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, veteran leaders
BENGALURU: As Mallikarjun Kharge takes charge as AICC president on Wednesday, one of his biggest challenges will be in his home state of Karnataka, which is going to the Assembly polls in April/May 2023. He has to prove his mettle by ensuring that Congress returns to power by patching up differences among different factions.
The internal bickering is likely to bubble up, especially when the process to pick candidates begins, and Kharge has to do the fine balancing act. DK Shivakumar has already said that Kharge would have a say in ticket distribution which lifts the burden off his shoulders.
The ticket distribution will not be the decision of just a few leaders, as the party high command has onboarded election strategist Sunil Kanugolu, who is expected to send reports time to time assessing the winnability of candidates. But the final list could cause much heartburn as followers of top leaders may not find a place in it and could rebel or join other parties ahead of the polls. It is a billion-dollar question as to how Kharge would tackle this attrition, which is likely to benefit BJP and JDS. There are multiple candidates from each constituency and all those who miss out could work against the official candidates. It is said that Kanugolu is already quite alarmed about such a possibility.
It is an open secret that Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah has his own set of loyalists, while Shivakumar has his acolytes pitching for tickets from the same constituencies.
Besides keeping sulking veterans, including KH Muniyappa, Motamma and SR Patil, in good books, Kharge also has to protect the interests of those joining from other parties at this crucial juncture. “Then, the question of loyalty to the party versus winnability arises. But given Kharge’s seniority, most leaders may not go against his decision,” a Congress leader said.
In Kalyana-Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka regions, Kharge has to take into confidence Veerashaiva Lingayat leaders and Siddaramaiah if the caste combination has to work, he said.
“The most challenging will be the communally sensitive coastal areas, as Congress that won 12 seats in 2013 was relegated to just one seat in 2018. That was because backward Billavas had lost faith in Congress. Kharge has to show his political acumen to win their trust back,” said a leader, who is a staunch supporter of veteran leader Janardhan Poojary.
