Bangalore: Congress Infighting Continues - KPCC Presidentship Issue Far from Over
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)
Bangalore, Sep 5: The KPCC presidentship issue, which appeared to have crystallized in favour of sidaramaiah, has not been resolved fully so far. Factionalism, lobbying and bickerings continue to haunt the selection process for this coveted post.
Behind-the-scene activities within the Congress party suddenly gained speed as soon the local leaders got the wind, that Siddaramaiah will lead the state unit. Lingayat leaders from north Karnataka are said to be lobbying hard against the move, through union home minister Shivraj Patil. Several state leaders spearheaded by Dharam Singh too have continued with their stand, that this post should not be given to a migrant.
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The high command does not want any fissures or split in the state unit of the party at present, particularly because of the increasing clout of the BJP in the state and the bypolls and Lok Sabha elections which are on the anvil. They therefore, want to consult all leaders of consequence from the state, to try to hammer out differences if any, and select an unanimous candidate.
Towards achieving this, the top leadership has been summoning state leaders to Delhi to hold consultations and advise them to unite for the sake of the party. Sonia Gandhi, who has already spoken to Siddaramaiah, R V Deshpande and D K Shivkumar, wants to meet other state leaders. As a result, Jaffer Shariff is already in Delhi to hold discussions, while Dharam singh, D B Chandre Gowda,H K Patil and some other leaders are expected to go to Delhi on Friday September 5.
It is learnt, that veteran state leaders like B K Hariprasad, Veerappa Moily, Oscar Fernandes and Margaret Alva are strongly in favour of handing over the reins to a person who has been in the party for long and sincerely worked for its progress. Their main grouse against Siddaramaiah is that he is a new comer into the party, and his elevation to the top post in the state will ruffle the sentiments of long time loyalists. Hence, the Congress high command might buy some time, to allow the dust to settle, before making a final announcement.
Lingayat leaders from north Karnataka, who met under the leadership of ex-minister and MLA A B Malakareddy, have sent their opinion to the All India Congress Committee through a fax. They have explained, that the Congress needs to make efforts to win over the confidence of Lingayat community from the state, particularly so as B S Yeddyurappa, himself a Lingayat, has become the state chief minister. The leaders have pointed out, that none of the Lingayat leaders have been given any important posts in the state unit of the party, and making siddaramaiah from Kuruba community the president, will almost certainly wean away the Lingayat votebank.
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