After PV Narasimha Rao & Sitaram Kesari, will it be Mallikarjun Kharge or Sushil Kumar Shinde?

TNN

July 4, 2019

New Delhi, Jul 4: The formal stepping down of Rahul Gandhi as Congress president will create a rare situation where the party will go for a non-Gandhi as the chief, the last being election of PV Narasimha Rao and then of Sitaram Kesari after Rajiv Gandhi. Senior Congress leaders started holding meetings on Wednesday to decide the future course.

Veteran Mallikarjun Kharge is seen as a strong possibility to take over the reins of Congress from Rahul. A Dalit and party loyalist, Kharge was the Congress leader in last Lok Sabha though he lost his poll from his stronghold of Gulbarga in Karnatakain 2019.

Another Dalit leader Sushil Kumar Shinde is also a close claimant, sources said.

Ever since it became clear that Rahul was adamant on stepping down, names of senior Congress leaders have done the rounds as possible replacements. Jyotiraditya Scindia is a name from the young generation.

According to procedure, the CWC will nominate an “interim president” and the president would be elected through nationwide voting which will take some time.

Within Congress, there is a strong voice that the next chief should go through the election process to have the legitimacy required to command respect among the cadres.

A senior leader pointed out that even Sonia Gandhi fought an election against a party veteran during a difficult phase in Congress history to emerge as undisputed leader. She even faced a rebellion and oversaw a split.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

JD(S) leader G T Devegowda backs CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA row, taunts HDK

News Network

October 4,2024

Mysuru: Chairman of JD(S) core committee and Chamundeshwari constituency MLA G T Devegowda on Thursday expressed his solidarity with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying the latter need not resign, while lambasting leaders of his own party and alliance partner BJP, including Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

In his speech during Mysuru Dasara inauguration he said that if persons against whom FIR is registered have to resign, many leaders from all the three parties, including Opposition Leader R Ashoka, will have to resign.

“All are sitting in glass houses... Since I know Siddaramaiah well, I am talking about him. At a time when mines and real estate are ruling politics, Siddaramaiah has survived in politics. He has never done any favour,” Devegowda said.

He added, “Allegations against Siddaramaiah are unexpected and accidental. If the Governor and Chief Justice order an investigation, it does not mean that he should resign."

He continued, asking, "Have they told Siddaramaiah to resign or have they asked to imprison him? When a person becomes a Central minister, he or she should realise their dignity and responsibility. Instead of recognising the good work done by Siddaramaiah, they ask him to resign. Will Kumarswamy (facing an FIR) resign? Should Siddaramaiah, who has become CM with a support of 135 MLAs, resign?"

"Opposition leaders are not remembering the good work of earlier CMs Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Veerendra Patil, Ramakrishna Hegde, H D Deve Gowda or S M Krishna. Karnataka is a model state. It is a bad trend to topple an elected government which is doing good work,” he further said.

Devegowda added, “Siddaramaiah is Goddess Chamundeshwari’s ‘Varaputra’ and hence has her blessings during tough times. He won the election in Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, when the BJP-JD(S) government was in power in 2006. With the blessings of the Goddess, he has held varied positions right from becoming an MLA for the first time in 1983. He presented 15 budgets and has become CM for a second time. He took H C Mahadevappa, a Dalit leader to the state level. Siddaramaiah has the support of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar as ‘Jodeththu’. Blessings of the beneficiaries of guarantee schemes are with him (Siddaramaiah).”

Siddaramaiah said, “Devegowda was a MUDA member. He knows the truth. Hence, he is saying this. His words have filled strength in me. ‘Satyameva Jayate’, Truth will always triumph.”

Comments