- Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar chief ministerial spat reignited Friday evening with DKS' Sonia Gandhi reference
- DKS recalled Sonia Gandhi declined to be PM after the 2004 election, endorsing Manmohan Singh instead
- The reference comes as DKS' followers urge Siddaramaiah to keep to a 2023 'deal' and give up his seat
The Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar tug-of-war over the Chief Minister's post – a headache the Congress could do without after another year of electoral defeats – flared up again Friday with DKS' unsubtle reference to Sonia Gandhi 'sacrificing power'.
At an event in Bengaluru, DKS spoke about the former Congress boss having given up the chance to become Prime Minister in 2004 after the party-led United Progressive Alliance won the Lok Sabha election. Instead she elevated Manmohan Singh, an economist par excellence who served as Governor of the Reserve Bank and the Union Finance Minister, DKS said.
"Sonia Gandhi was Congress President for 20 years. She also sacrificed power… (then-President of India) Abdul Kalam called her to become the next PM but she refused and suggested Manmohan Singh as someone who could develop the country."
DKS also threw in a (far) more politically correct remark into his speech, calling on the people of the state to "always remain with this Congress government led by Siddaramaiah" and to "bless us once again (in the 2028 election)".
The party's southern strongman, credited with orchestrating the 2023 win, has made it a point to alternate jabs in the chief ministerial battle with exhortations to the cadre and leaders to focus on the next poll.
NDTV Special | What Do They Want? Decoding Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar Power Struggle
But the Sonia Gandhi reference was unmissable.
MLAs backing DKS to replace Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister have demanded the latter honour a 'deal' struck after the 2023 Assembly election, a 'deal' made because both men wanted the top job and which said each would have a 2.5-year reign.
NDTV Special | The Hidden Caste Face-off In Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar Karnataka Battle
That halfway mark came and went last week with no sign of Siddaramaiah standing down or the party enforcing any 'deal'.
As a result, over the past week, Shivakumar and his supporters have reminded the Chief Minister and his camp, and the Congress leadership, to give up power. Those reminders include another not-so-cryptic jab by DKS – about "word power".
READ | 'Keeping Promise A Big Power Move': Shivakumar's Reminder To Congress
Thus far Siddaramaiah has not yielded to pressure, which includes DKS' supporters in Delhi to petition party boss Mallikarjun Kharge. He has, though, admitted to "confusion" in the ranks and called on the party's core leadership to "put a full stop" to it.
READ | "There Is Confusion": Siddaramaiah Admits Amid Karnataka Leadership Crisis
But a direct response to DKS' 'word power' jab – a post on X this morning declared "'word' is not 'power' unless it betters the world for the people…" – suggests the tension may be getting to him.
READ | "Mandate For 5 Years": Siddaramaiah's "Word" Dig Amid Leadership Tussle
The Congress, meanwhile, has soft-peddled so far, refusing to comment or commit either way. In fact, till Kharge's "Sonia, Rahul (Gandhi) and I will fix it" comment on Wednesday, the party had not acknowledged a leadership problem. Strongman Randeep Surjewala, who brokered peace in 2023 and again in June this year, blamed the BJP for a "malicious campaign".
This morning sources told NDTV Kharge had spoken to Rahul Gandhi and warned him the Siddaramaiah-DKS spat needs to be settled, once and for all, by the time the Karnataka Assembly's winter session begins on December 8. Kharge, sources said, was aware of the battering a divided party could take in the House, particularly with the BJP on alert.
READ | Siddaramaiah's Job 'Not Currently In Danger', DK Shivakumar 'Must Wait'
A Karnataka BJP leader confirmed this morning the plan to push a no-confidence vote against the Congress' government. Sunil Kumar told reporters, "Siddaramaiah is restricted to Mysuru and the Deputy Chief Minister (DKS) to Delhi. In this situation I spoke to R Ashok (the Leader of the Opposition) and others and said we should bring a no-confidence motion."
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