NEW DELHI: Who will resolve the ongoing power tussle in Karnataka between chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar – top Congress leadership in Delhi or the leaders themselves at the local level?On Sunday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge shielded the “high command” from this embarrassing power game in Karnataka and said that “any confusion on the leadership issue existed at the local level.” Kharge also added that the local leaders should take ownership of the internal disputes rather than blaming the high command.The remark is not only interesting, given the strong and established high command culture in the grand-old party, but is also open to many interpretations.Did Kharge endorse Siddaramaiah’s claim to continue as chief minister for a full five-year term? After all, he is the chief minister at present and if there is no confusion at the central level on the leadership issue, it perhaps could mean that Siddaramaiah has the support of the high command.The talk about an alleged deal on rotational chief ministership and the demand for DK Shivakumar to take over the top post after two-and-a-half years has been raised by the supporters of the deputy chief minister at the local level. So, by calling the leadership tussle a local issue, is Kharge citing these claims in favor of DKS made by some MLAs and local Congress leaders?Kharge had, in his remarks, also cautioned party leaders against claiming credit for Congress’s electoral success in the last assembly elections. “Everyone has built the party. It’s not any individual’s effort. Congress has been built by party workers. Congress workers supported us,” Kharge said without naming anyone.This again points more towards the supporters of DK Shivakumar, who have openly claimed that the deputy chief minister, who is also the state Congress president, had played a key role in the party’s spectacular victory in the 2023 assembly elections. The Congress had in 2023 won a comprehensive majority, bagging 135 assembly seats out of 224 with a vote share of 43.2%. The BJP was decimated and reduced to just 66 seats with a vote share of 36.3%.However, the leadership tussle has overshadowed this victory from Day 1. The Congress leadership then had to make a lot of effort and persuasion to convince DK Shivakumar to allow Siddaramaiah to lead the government. There were then reports of an alleged power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. As the Congress government crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, speculations intensified about a leadership change. MLAs of both factions have petitioned the high command in support of their leaders.Taking a cue from Kharge’s remark, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara on Monday said any differences or confusions within the party over the leadership issue in the state have to be resolved locally.“Everyone of us should know, we should resolve ourselves. If the All India Congress president says that you (state leaders) resolve yourself and have nothing to do with the high command, we all have to sit together and resolve,” Parameshwara said.Chief minister Siddaramaiah, however, reiterated his stand that Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi and the party high command will have to take a decision on the CM change issue, and everyone will abide by their decision.“I don’t know about it. Rahul Gandhi and the high command have to decide. Whatever they decide, I’m committed to it,” Siddaramaiah told reporters here in response to a question on Kharge’s statement.“I have spoken to the high command. They have said that they will decide. I will abide by whatever the high command decides,” he said.Siddaramaiah had on Friday asserted on the floor of the assembly that he would continue in office. He had also said that the Congress high command was “in my favour” and asserted that no decision was made on his staying at the helm for only two-and-a-half years.Reacting to his remarks, Shivakumar had said that he and CM Siddaramaiah have come to an agreement with the involvement of the Congress high command, and both of them will abide by it.This is not the first time that DKS has spoken about the power-sharing agreement. In fact, when the tussle had started, he had made a cryptic social media post stating that “word power is world power.”“Keeping one’s word is the greatest strength in the world! The biggest force in the world was to keep one’s word… Be it a judge, president, or anyone else, including myself, everyone has to walk the talk. Word power is world power,” DKS had then written.Siddramaraiah had then responded sharply to this and had countered DKS with his own play of words. “A Word is not power unless it betters the World for the people,” Siddaramaiah wrote and detailed the various welfare schemes that his government had launched for the people of Karnataka.This power tussle has already caused a lot of embarrassment for the Congress leadership and also raised questions about its ability to resolve disputes between state leaders. Kharge’s remarks have done little to bring clarity on the way forward. It will be interesting to see how DKS responds to his statement, especially on not giving him credit for the party’s victory in the 2023 elections.
