Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 3: Both the Congress factions, one in favour of Siddaramaiah and the other against him, have been vying with each other to establish supremacy in the party.

The faction opposed to Siddaramaiah is aiming at making the former chief minister lose his grip either on the parliamentary party or Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. Currently, he has tight hold on both these camps and as long as he continues to command respect here, his opponents cannot hope to fare better.

Siddaramaiah

It is said that the faction opposed to Siddaramaiah, which has several veteran party leaders, is trying to replace Dinesh Gundu Rao, KPCC president who is loyal to Siddaramaiah, with a person from the opposite camp. It is said that Siddaramaiah camp has informed the high command that if the high command makes changes in the leadership at the state level, then his camp will remain neutral in the bypoll and that the new leaders will have to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring victory for the Congress.

As D K Shivakumar, who was a strong contender for the post of KPCC president, is entangled in cases registered against him, Dr G Parameshwar is sensing a chance to return as KPCC president. It is said that he has been putting in efforts towards this end.

Another group of MLAs has begun to put forward case for giving the post of the leader of the opposition to a person from north Karnataka this time. Veteran leader H K Patil, fits the bill well, and may be able to wrest this post from Siddaramaiah, party sources say.

It is said that unhappy at factions building up pressure against him, Siddaramaiah has decided to visit Delhi only if invited by top leaders. In the meanwhile, there are chances of Dinesh Gundu Rao visiting Delhi during the end of this week to discuss all aspects including factionalism in the state Congress which can influence the outcome of the bypoll.