Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, May 11: Congress party in-charge of Karnataka state affairs, K C Venugopal, said that confusion over the issue of appointment to the post of the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will blow over by the month end. However, he remained tight-lipped over the prospects of shunting out current incumbent, Dr G Parameshwara, or his retention.

He was addressing a joint press conference attended by himself, chief minister, Siddaramaiah, and Parameshwara at the end of the coordination committee meeting held here on Wednesday May 10. Noting that confusing write ups and speculations have been making the rounds in media circles, Venugopal said that the party high command will be taking a suitable decision on the issue by the end of this month.

Venugopal acknowledged that Parameshwara has been doing good work. Taking into consideration the necessity to prepare the party to face the next election, if found necessary, KPCC office bearers may be changed, he stated. He said he had interacted with 431 party leaders during the last three days and admitted that there are minor problems within the party. "Compared to other states, the issues here are minor in nature. We can find solutions to them after holding discussions with senior party leaders," he clarified.

He appreciated the way Siddaramaiah government has been serving the people since the last four years and said that the party leaders have no differences over the fine performance of the government. Although popular schemes like 'Annabhagya', 'Ksheerabhagya' and 'Krishibhagya' have been introduced, because of lack of publicity, the work of keeping the people informed about these achievements has not been done to the expected extent, he felt.

Venugopal said that some party leaders had come up with very good suggestions for the success of the party in the assembly election and that the party will face the election on the basis of the government's performance. "We are confident of winning this election. BJP banks on whipping up of emotions and is backed by an agenda to win election by dividing the society. But it will fail in it objective in Karnataka as the people here have faith in social justice, and they value development projects.

He refused to field questions on senior leaders deserting the party. He said he has information that many leaders from other parties will be crossing over to Congress. About former MP from Mysuru, Vishwanath, he said he has received a letter from the leader, which contains certain suggestions to address issues within the party. He added that Vishwanath has confirmed that he continues to be in Congress.

In the meanwhile, as per sources, Venugopal has decided to identify good second rung leaders of the party and work with them to target young populace. He talked about his goal at the coordination committee meeting when speaking to senior party leaders. "We will identify second level leaders of the party and give them responsibility of building the party. For this, we have to identify active young leaders involved with party organization. Party vice president Rahul Gandhi also wants this to be done. Senior leaders of the party have to extend support for this plan,", he explained.