 "Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Congress")
A day after the Congress overwhelming victory in Karnataka, the party has got into the act of selecting the chief ministerial candidate with senior leader AK Antony, AICC in charge of the state Madhusudan Mistry, general secretary Luizinho Faleiro and Jitendra Singh being dispatched to the state to ascertain the views of the newly elected MLAs.
The plethora of contenders for the chief ministerial post; the Congress has several prominent faces there, has made the task more challenging.
Despite Siddaramaiah claiming that he had the backing of all the 121 MLAs and was therefore the strongest candidate for CM, party sources say that Union Labour minister Mallikarjun M Kharge could be better placed to be the chief minister.
A senior Congress leader said, “In order to eliminate PCC chief G Parameshwar, Siddaramaiah, himself a Kurba leader, ensured that the Kurba community (shepherds) did not vote for Parameshwar. The Kurba community has around 30,000 votes in Koratagere constituency in Tumkur and Parameshwar lost by 18,000 votes. Everyone in the party is well aware of this.”
What also does not weigh in favour of Siddaramaiah, is his reputation of being arrogant and lacking the ability to carry people along with him.
Kharge, a veteran from the state who is also a Dalit, stands a better chance enjoying the confidence of Congress high command.
Union Petroleum minister Veerappa Moily, who has been the former CM, fancies his chances as well.
What has come as a surprise for the Congress is the fact that voting by and large has not been on caste lines. The Lingayat community which have been traditionally BJP supporters and constitute 18% vote; they have voted for the Congress in large numbers right across the state. In Hyderabad Karnataka region, the BJP got only four seats while the Congress bagged 20.
Last time the BJP had got 19 seats. In Central Karnataka BJP got only three seats while the Congress doubled its tally from last time’s 14 to 28 seats. In Mumbai Karnataka region, again BJP’s tally ahs decimated to 13 from 33 last time while Congress has nearly tripled its numbers to 31 seats.
Again in areas like Udipi where the majority of voters are from the Bans and Bilavar community, it is a Congress candidate from the fisherman community Pramod Madhwaraj that has won.
In Bhatkal, where Brahmins are in minority surprisingly it is an Independent Brahmin candidate MS Vaidya that has won.
