The Congress high command and the Karnataka state party leadership are set to make crucial decisions on Tuesday, June 2, following the power transition from Siddaramaiah to DK Shivakumar, who is set to head the Congress government in Karnataka.
Among the decisions to be made are whether or not to have multiple deputy chief ministers, and also the ministers to be sworn in as Shivakumar’s cabinet colleagues on June 3.
The party’s national leadership is likely to decide on these issues during a meeting in Delhi on June 2. Both DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are likely to put forward the names of their nominees before party president Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary KC Venugopal, Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
A senior Congress leader and MLC told TNM that there had been no discussion yet on whether or not to have deputy chief ministers representing the major communities—Lingayats, Dalits, Muslims, and backward classes.
“If at all they decide on deputy CMs, they might give it to a leader from the Dalit community. But so far, there has been no discussion on having multiple deputy chief ministers,” the MLC said.
The leader did confirm that CM designate DK Shivakumar’s cabinet would start small, with about 10-12 ministers sworn in first on June 3, followed by an expansion at a later date.
A Congress MLA, who comes from the younger crop of party leaders, told TNM that a decision on having multiple deputy chief ministers was yet to be taken.
“First, the question is whether or not to have deputy chief ministers. If yes, then who? But that question is going to be very difficult to decide,” the MLA said.
He said there were simply too many aspirants and factors to consider, and that the party would eventually give up. For instance, if Priyank Kharge was chosen, other Dalit leaders might object, both on grounds of seniority and on caste considerations. While Priyank Kharge comes from the SC (right), KH Muniyappa is from the SC (Left) community.
Party president
With DK Shivakumar set to head the state government, the Congress will have to appoint a leader to take his place as head of the KPCC.
According to a senior leader, the names of BK Hariprasad, former minister Sathish Jarkiholi, and KH Muniyappa are being considered for the post of party president.
Read: Who can inherit Siddaramaiah’s social justice legacy? Here’s a list