Siddaramaiah says he will be CM again

Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah’s statement that he will become the chief minister once again, has created ripples in political circles.

His statement, made in Holenarasipur in Hassan district on Friday, has led to speculation in the Congress and the JD(S) that the survival of the coalition government headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is doubtful. The state Congress is riddled with factional feuds. Many senior legislators are upset at being denied ministerial berths.

“I want to become the chief minister and I will. Many of my adversaries ganged up against me after the 2018 Assembly polls. Hence, I couldn’t get the post... But politics is not stagnant. It will keep changing,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in Holenarasipur, without naming the adversaries.

Siddaramaiah, who is also the chairman of the coordination and monitoring committee of the coalition government, had been unhappy with the coalition government. He had even recently expressed doubts on the government’s survival after the Lok Sabha elections due next year.

However, the Congress high command had later clarified that there was no threat to the coalition government and Kumaraswamy will complete his full term.

Sources close to Siddaramaiah said that several Congress leaders, including legislators, have been complaining to him against Kumaraswamy’s style of functioning.

The leaders’ grouse is that the Congress party is not getting any benefit from the coalition government. The chief minister and JD(S) ministers are not extending cooperation in getting their works done.

No plan to unseat HDK

However, the Congress ministers said there is no plan to unseat Kumaraswamy. “Yes, we want him (Siddaramaiah) to become chief minister again. But he is not the one to unseat Kumaraswamy for this purpose.

“I know Siddaramaiah for over three decades now,” Revenue Minister R V Deshpande said.

Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar, who played a key role in the formation of the coalition government, said Siddaramaiah might be aspiring to become the chief minister again. But the decision of the party is important in this regard.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had consulted all the leaders before forming the coalition government.

It was done to keep the communal BJP away from power, he added.

Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge also said the party high command takes decisions on such matters and refused to comment on Siddaramaiah’s statement.

Let him become CM: HDK

“Let him become CM...Good.” This is how Kumaraswamy reacted when the media sought his comments on Siddaramaiah’s statement. He refused to take any question in this regard.