Amid spiraling discord in its Karnataka unit, where several party MLAs have targeted their own government ministers, the Congress has called a meeting in Delhi today of ministers from the state.
Congress sources say the first meeting will take place between the party leadership and top Karnataka Congress leaders. The Delhi leadership will next meet with ministers and some senior MLAs. The party leadership may consider a coordination committee to address in-house grievances against their own government's policy.
The meetings were called against the backdrop of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confronting MLAs' demands at a tense meeting of Congress MLAs recently.
The MLAs alleged that no funds had been released for development works in their constituencies despite numerous requests. Thirty MLAs wrote to the Chief Minister and senior party leaders on what they claimed was anger among people in their constituencies.
The lawmakers were reportedly upset with some ministers they described as "unapproachable". To add to Siddaramaiah's troubles, the opposition BJP and Janata Dal Secular have raised corruption allegations against the Congress government that is a little over two months old.
The MLAs also complained that state officers ignored them in matters of transfers and postings in their constituency. A senior Congress MLA, BR Patil, reportedly threatened to resign during the meeting.
The Chief Minister is believed to have slammed the MLAs for their signature campaign and said that development work would need to take a backseat this year as the state government had used up most of its resources on the Congress's five guarantee schemes amounting to more than Rs 60,000 crore annually.
Siddaramaiah's comment about budgeting for the party's election promise raises concern reminiscent of experts cautioning that the five guarantees would place a huge burden on the state exchequer and potentially derail the state's fiscal prudence.
A section of the party is also unhappy about the names proposed for nomination to the three vacant Legislative Council seats. A social media campaign on the party neglecting "young grassroots workers" has been in circulation. The state party leadership had recommended Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Union Minister K Rahman Khan; former Minister MR Seetharam; and former Enforcement Directorate officer HP Sudham Das. Their names were later withheld on the instructions of the leadership. The nominations are likely to be discussed in the state leaders' meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
However, sources in the Karnataka Chief Minister's office denied any infighting and insisted that only a few cabinet ministers who were tasked with election responsibilities had been called to meet with the leadership for discussions on the upcoming Telangana polls and the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Janata Dal Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy had flashed a pen drive in the assembly repeatedly, claiming it had evidence of bribes in transfers. However, he did not share the "evidence" as it could have strengthened his bitter rival, Siddaramaiah, and weakened the political position of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar have been locked in a feud since their rivalry over the chief minister's post after the Congress won in Karnataka. The acrimony stays, months after the Congress formed the government.
The Congress came to power in the state riding on people's aspirations for a stable and smooth government. However, the question of leadership surfaced immediately after the verdict, with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar both making it clear they wanted the top post.
The Congress leadership, attempting to keep both happy, arrived at a formula of rotational chief ministership with the two splitting a five-year term by half. Though Shivakumar settled for the Deputy Chief Minister's post, his supporters often put out a reminder that after 2.5 years, it will be his turn to become Chief Minister.
Siddaramaiah's aides, however, say with his tested administrative skills, he must continue for five years straight without a mid-tenure transition to DK Shivakumar.
The Congress, the pillar of the opposition's INDIA alliance, can't afford to send a wrong signal to its partners and people that its own house isn't in order. Therefore, a damage control exercise in the form of meetings has been planned to avert a revolt within and to keep rival factions silent until the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Anything adverse could seriously dent the party's poll prospects in the 2024 parliamentary elections, given that the state accounts for 28 MPs in Lok Sabha.
The combined opposition in the state - BJP and JD(S) - is looking for fissures to break the Congress. The lack of money for development could be a potential weak spot for the parties to capitalise on. The strategy of freebies, subsidies and loan waivers to win elections is good politics but poor economics, as the Congress may well acknowledge now.
(Bharti Mishra Nath is a senior journalist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.