BANGALORE: The Karnataka Congress will soon have a new chief. State party president G Parameshwara’s term had ended in October last but he remained in the post owing to Lok Sabha polls. In the state cabinet expansion following poll results, Parameshwara is expected to find a berth. In line with the Congress policy of one-man, one-post, he will then have to quit as KPCC president.
This time, the party leadership is inclined to provide an opportunity to a person from the dominant castes, either a Vokkaliga or a Lingayat. As the CM is from the OBC and Parameshwara is a dalit, there is demand from the upper castes that the post should now go to them. Moreover, through its programmes and assertions, the Siddaramaiah government has time and again proved its preferential treatment towards the Ahinda (acronym for minorities, backward classes and dalits), leaving the Vokkaligas and Lingayats asking for more.
Lobbying has already begun in the Vokkaliga and Lingayat camps to bag the post. The names being mooted in the Lingayat camps are of C S Nadagouda, five-term MLA from Muddebihal in Bijapur district, and Veeranna Mattikatti, former chairman of the legislative council.
Normally, ministers are unwilling to give up their job to work for the party, especially when there are no assembly or Lok Sabha polls. But, urban development minister Vinaykumar Sorake, a Billava (Idiga), is learnt to have shown his willingness to work for the organization. A loyalist, he has served in many capacities in the party earlier.
According to sources, AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi wants to encourage young leadership in the organization at the national level. With bleak chances for Congress this polls, he has set his eyes on the future. The chances of agriculture minister Krishna Byregowda also aren’t being ruled out. In Byregowda’s case, his age, education, caste and proximity to Rahul Gandhi may come handy.
Whoever assumes the post, their next big challenge will be to capture the BBMP, now controlled by the BJP. The BBMP elections are slated for next year.
