Bengaluru: Congress legislators and leaders on Sunday deliberated at length on the creation of two Deputy Chief Minister (DyCM) posts in order to placate the dominant Lingayat community in the state to which former BJP CM B.S. Yeddyurappa, who made his exit from power on Saturday, belongs.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader in the party said, “It is almost certain that Dr Parameshwar, A dalit leader and the KPCC president will be the DyCM and is most likely to be sworn-in along with Mr Kumaraswamy on May 23 itself. But after dislodging Lingayat strongman B. S. Yeddyurappa from the CM post, the party is now looking to placate the Lingayat community by offering the second DyCM post to the Lingayats." According to the source, the party cannot afford to antagonise Lingayats anymore after its gambit of offering separate religion status to the community backfired badly though as many as 17 Lingayats won MLA seats.
“All of them are from the north-Karnataka region, which sends about 110 MLAs to the Assembly. Our focus on AHINDA (doling out benefits to the backward classes, minorities and dalits) too has backfired. Hence, this is the right time to placate them by offering the second DyCM post to Lingayats. Therefore, party legislators and leaders deliberated on this issue,” the source said.
The source added that although campaign committee president, D. K. Shivakumar asserted that he too was in the race for the DyCM post, this is seen as more of posturing as he too is aware that when a Vokkaliga (Kumaraswamy) is CM, another DyCM post cannot be given to the same community. It looks like Mr Shivakumar is eyeing the KPCC president post as Dr Parameshwar may have to vacate it after serving in the post for a record eight years in a row,” the source said.
Meanwhile in a related development, Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, has demanded that the Congress high command appoint its national president Shamanur Shivashankarappa as Deputy Chief Minister, and with this, reduce 'dissatisfaction' among Veerashaiva-Lingayats.
