Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 30: Senior Congress leaders are preparing to moot a proposal before the high command of the party to make D K Shivakumar the state Congress president in order to infuse fresh lease of life and buoyancy in the party.

These leaders feel that Shivakumar fits the bill well as the post of the leader of the opposition in the assembly has gone to Siddaramaiah. Shivakumar, who is considered an equally powerful leader, is suitable to head Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), they feel. They argue that the party should not give importance to income tax, enforcement directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation cases against Shivakumar as they are politically motivated.

Senior party leaders like K H Muniyappa, Dr G Parameshwar, H K Patil, and Ramalinga Reddy are leading the pro-Shivakumar camp. Reliable sources say that this effort has the support of B K Harilprasad, Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjun Kharge and some other leaders of the party.

Caste calculation

The leaders feel that Nalin Kumar Kateel of Bunt community has been made the BJP state president. JD(S) has given the post of the state president to H K Kumaraswamy, a Dalit, and the Congress can turn Vokkaliga community towards itself if a person from that community is made state president. The leaders also feel that this community has turned against BJP on the issue of D K Shivakumar's arrest, and this issue may prove to be blessing for the Congress.

Another calculation is that Shivakumar can be pitted against Siddaramaiah from becoming unchallenged leader of the party in the state. As Sonia Gandhi had met Shivakumar in Tihar jail and promised to him that the party will be with him, Siddaramaiah cannot oppose his appointment as state president. Shivakumar can affectively stymie any plans of Siddaramaiah to centralize all powers with himself, the leaders reportedly believe.

If the party's central leadership is not ready to give the post of KPCC president to Shivakumar immediately, the group feels that he can be given preference in decisions being taken by the party, it is said.