Bengaluru: The appointment of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has raised several eyebrows in the party, but it has once again proved his proximity to party president, Rahul Gandhi.
Although a number of Karnataka leaders like M Veerappa Moily, and K H Muniyappa were considered for CWC membership , Mr Gandhi reportedly felt the choice had to be between senior leader, M Mallikarjun Kharge and Mr Siddaramaiah. While Mr Kharge has been a loyal soldier of the Congress, the former Chief Minister has emerged as a promising leader ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Refusing to have former Congress Chief Ministers like Digvijay Singh and Bhupendra Hooda on the CWC as they face corruption charges, Mr Gandhi did not take much time to clear Mr Siddaramaiah’s candidature, according to party sources. Although the Congress recently lost the assembly poll in the state, managing to win merely 79 seats as against 104 by the BJP, he continues to have great confidence in his capacity to take on the opposition single-handedly, they reveal. The fact that Mr Siddaramaiah took on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and BJP national president , Amit Shah during the recent poll campaign, and the public response to him has reportedly earned him Mr Gandhi’s trust.
Besides, both Mr Gandhi and former UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi are said to be so happy with the schemes launched by the Siddaramaiah government like Anna bhagya, Ksheera bhagya and Shaadi bhagya that they want to include them in the party’s election manifesto in the coming Assembly poll in Rajasthan.
Party insiders also don't rule out the possibility of Mr Gandhi asking Mr Siddaramaiah to contest the coming Lok Sabha polls from Mysuru- Kodagu in the absence of an able Congress leader to take on Mr Pratap Simha, the current BJP MP. But it is believed the Kuruba strongman is more interested in state politics than national. A decision, could however, be taken in the matter in the coming months, according to sources.
