Bengaluru: Even as KPCC working president Dinesh Gundurao is eyeing the post of KPCC president, other senior leaders have ideas of their own. While some are pushing for former CM Siddaramaiah to head the Congress in the state, opposition leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge is reportedly lobbying for one of the North Karnataka Lingayat leaders.
With current KPCC chief Dr G. Parameshwar joining the Cabinet as Dy CM, most in the party are aware that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to appoint a new state president in his place. The battle for the post has therefore begun in earnest.
Mr Gundurao is not only lobbying with national leaders like Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Ranadeep Singh Surjewala to push his case, but also AICC general secretary, K C Venugopal in charge of Karnataka affairs, who was in Bengaluru to attend the first meeting of the JD (S)-Congress coordination panel. Mr Gundurao reportedly met him at 2 am in the morning in a hotel. Backing him at the meeting was minister Krishna Byregowda, according to party sources. But this has not gone down well with former ministers, A. Manju, P.T. Parameshwar Naik, H.K. Patil and others. Mr Manju, who is backing Mr Siddaramaiah for the post, said, “I am not saying Mr Gundurao is bad. But Siddaramaiah is more capable of handling it.”
Other local leaders and MPs, who attended a meeting convened by Dr Parameshwar, batted for either Mr B.K. Hariprasad or Mr K.H. Muniyappa, reveal sources. Dr Parameshwar himself is unlikely to recommend Mr Gundurao, who is not seen as senior enough for the post and has no caste backing, say party insiders. In their view, he might recommend someone from North Karnataka. He may have a supporter in this in Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, who feels its time to have a KPCC president from the north of the state as the party has been giving chances to leaders from the south so far, say sources.
