Choosing a chief minister more difficult for Congress than beating the BJP: report

Bengaluru: To the Congress leadership, choosing a chief minister between two equally powerful leaders in Karnataka appears to be the bigger Gordian knot than fighting out the BJP.

The state party chief DK Shivakumar and popular leader Siddaramaiah are not in any mood for a reconciliation, to end the impasse as the people are getting wary of the regular congress drama.

DK Shivakumar on Monday cancelled a trip to Delhi citing ill-health, giving rise to speculations that the 61-year-old is digging his heel in his claim for top post.

In his interview with NDTV, the state party chief sounded disappointed when he said ‘They should have the courtesy to acknowledge who is behind the win’.

He said that Sonia Gandhi earlier personally expressed confidence in him saying that ‘you will deliver Karnataka’.

However, Shivakumar ruled out his raising a rebellion in the state congress, saying that ‘I won’t blackmail’, adding that ‘I will not fall in a trap’.

Meanwhile, raising the pitch for his claim to chief minister’s post, the other top contender for the post, Siddaramaiah, said he had the support of MALs.

Shivakumar has taken his claim warily responding that ‘I will wish him all the best’ without directly entering into a tussle.

Siddaramaiah is camping in the national capital and is looking forward to meet with the party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders, which has not taken place yet.

Shivakumar earlier on Monday claimed that he had ‘numbers’, suggesting that MLAs will throw their weight behind him.

Going further, he said that 135 lawmakers had given their opinion, alongside passing a one-line resolution, adding that the Congress won 135 seats under his leadership.

He credited himself with rebuilding the party after 20 MLAs crossed over the BJP when the coalition government with HD Kumaraswamy failed.

‘When our MLAs went out of the party, I did not lose heart and took the responsibility with courage. Mallikarjun Kharge is the senior leader and Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have confidence in us. We will leave the matter to them,’ he was quoted as saying.

While Shivakumar is praised as a strategist and troubleshooter for Congress while Siddaramaiah is its more popular face who can fill up stadiums with loyal supporters.

Where 75-year-old Siddaramaiah is of a clean image, Shivakumar is facing probe in corruption cases, which could throw spanner in his ambitions.