Unabated Karnataka bewilders Congress
Congress circles in Delhi are watching with growing unease and bewilderment the almost daily bickering among senior ministers in the Karnataka government over the leadership issue, less than six months after the Siddaramaiah government assumed office.
Congress galleries are abuzz as the inhouse debate on how long Siddaramaiah would last and demand for 3-4 deputy chief ministers have continued despite AICC's September order to senior ministers not to squabble in public.
IT and tourism minister Priyank Kharge, better known as the son of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, added spice to the party feud on Friday. Just a day after Siddaramaiah asserted that he would remain CM for five years, Kharge junior not only tried to dismiss it as the CM's personal view but expressed readiness to be the CM if the high command so wished.
«It is difficult to say if he forgot his father's position or deliberately joined the free for all,» said a senior Congress leader in Delhi.
When the Congress wrested Karnataka in May, its bigger goal was to maintain the electoral tempo to win most of 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2024. A good Congress show in Karnataka would mean a setback for BJP which won 25 seats in 2019, its best performance so far.
But as internal bickering grows by the day in the state government, there is worry about its potential to affect Congress' Lok Sabha prospects. The visible drift in the Congress government that assumed office with the promise of administrative stability has encouraged some sections to even warn of another 'Operation Kamal'.
According to Congress leaders, there are five reasons for the tussle in Karnataka: The foremost is the clash of ambitions of Siddaramaiah — over conscious to assert his longevity — and
