Siddaramaiah will be the Karnataka chief minister for five years, said senior Congress leader M B Patil, adding that there is no power sharing agreement.
“Siddaramaiah will be the CM for five years. If there was a power sharing agreement, senior leaders would have informed. There is no 30-month power sharing proposal. If there was such an agreement, KC Venugopal would have told us,” Patil said on Monday.
A report in The Sunday Guardian had two days ago stated that there is no truth to the claims being made that the Chief Minister’s post will be rotated between the two top leaders, Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar.
The report quoted its source as saying, “The issue has been settled. It’s the people’s mandate. Elected MLAs have reposed their faith in Siddaramaiah. He is a man of magnanimity. He is Mr Clean in Indian politics. There are no allegations, no corruption charges against him. There is no nepotism also. He is Obama (former US President Barack Obama) of Indian politics.”
Many in the Congress had earlier claimed that the CM’s post will be shared by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for 30 months each, besides the latter continuing as KPCC president till next year’s Lok Sabha polls.
The Sunday Guardian quoted political scientist and psephologist Sandeep Shastri as saying: “This was expected (Shivakumar staking claim for the chief ministership) as DKS was jockeying for the best bargain. And he got it.”
“What I have called 1+1+1, deputy CM, choice of portfolios, and continuation as KPCC president. This will be an interesting partnership which will need to be consciously nurtured and kept on track,” he was further quoted.
Former journalist and political analyst Tyagaraj Sharma, however, is of the opinion that the fight for the CM post between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar could “flare up anytime”.
“It is difficult to predict the time frame but definitely for some time the truce will prevail but this is a simmering discontent. This can flare up anytime. I definitely suspect that it is not going to be governed smoothly at this point of time. Even in the Lok Sabha elections, if the Congress does not do well in the Lok Sabha elections, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar will blame each other for the debacle,” Sharma was quoted as saying.
The problem will not end with the announcement of Siddaramaiah being the CM for five years, experts said. The report quoted political analysts as saying that the second round of problems will start with the formation of the cabinet and the distribution of portfolios.
Tyagaraj Sharma was further quoted as sayibg that the tussle will be on distribution of portfolios as well because every community would like to have a piece of the cake and it would not be possible for any government to ensure that everybody is happy.
“The issues will keep flaring up as demand will not stop and both the factions will try to get the most. It is a difficult job and how they will handle it is to be seen. But one thing is for sure that it is not going to be a smooth ride for them,” he added.
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