Karnataka: Mallikarjun Kharge’s explosive letter to Siddaramaiah has Congress top brass backing?
Bengaluru: With Mallikarjun Kharge booming in Delhi amidst the deadlock in parliament, it is Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is getting the hiccups in Bengaluru.
The recent letter written by the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha to the CM on the neglect of his region, Hyderabad-Karnataka, is indication enough that the party high command is testing the waters. It points to the fact that the top brass is not too satisfied with the performance of the Siddaramaiah government in a state wracked by a series of farmer suicides.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader from New Delhi observed that Mr Kharge is one leader who does not move an inch without consulting the high command. “It is amply clear that he is itching to return to state politics. He has been making it clear again and again after his birthday celebrations last month.”
Nor is Mr Kharge known to express his displeasure through letters though he may have done it at a few press conferences. “The high command is definitely restless over Mr Siddaramaiah’s inability to deliver. Its biggest grouse is that despite the Congress being in power here for more than two years, it does not seem to have taken off. He has been given ample opportunities to prove himself but Mr Siddaramaiah has fallen short of expectations,” the source said.
The leadership seems to be sending signals to Mr Siddaramaiah that there is an alternative in Karnataka if it wants to go for a change at the top. And what better way than making the top contender, Mr Kharge test the waters before taking matters to the brink?
Mr Siddaramiah’s fear of being under scrutiny was visible during the selection of candidates for the BBMP polls. He shed his laid-back attitude and took everything under his control to decide candidates. “Mr Siddaramaiah is known for his ‘supine approach’ in doing whatever he does. He would not have taken the BBMP polls so seriously had Mr Kharge not written an explosive letter just before the polls were announced,” a source explained.
