Congress leaders and prospective ministers in the upcoming Karnataka cabinet are focusing on providing good governance by fulfilling the promises made in the manifesto without letting any internal issues spiral out of control.
Even before the official announcement in Delhi that Siddaramaiah would be the next chief minister with state Congress president D.K. Shivakumar as his deputy, party leaders had begun preparing for government formation, after having won absolute majority by bagging 135 of the 224 seats in the Assembly.
Former deputy chief minister and chairman of the manifesto committee, G. Parameshwara, told reporters on Thursday that it was time to start working.
“We must remember the promises we made to the people of Karnataka. We promised them good governance. So every one of us should keep that in mind and work as a united team to provide a good government for the next five years,” Parameshwara said.
Parameshwara, who had earlier thrown his hat in the ring for the chief minister’s post, had subsequently been said to have been eyeing the role of a deputy chief minister, until the high command decided to go with Shivakumar’s demand that he should be the only deputy to Siddaramaiah.
The soft-spoken face of the Dalit community in the Congress, Parameshwara had a word of caution for his party. “The people have seen the BJP government for years before they elected us. Now it’s our turn to give good governance and ensure they don’t reject us,” he said.
Parameshwara, a former state Congress president who led the party to an absolute majority in 2013 when Siddaramiah became chief minister, denied any rift in the party over the leadership issue.
“There is absolutely no rift. It is natural that there would be discussions when there are more than one aspirant for a position,” he said.
Asked if the Congress in Karnataka would eventually slip into a leadership tussle like in Rajasthan, Parameshwara said: “The high command will never let such a situation arise here.”
Satish Jarkiholi, MLA-elect from Yemkanmardi in Belgaum district, said he felt relieved that the leadership issue had been settled. “It’s a relief that this matter is settled. I personally feel it’s a good decision,” he said, alluding to the high command’s move to make Siddaramaiah chief minister and Shivakumar his deputy with the additional duty of continuing as party president in the state until the Lok Sabha polls.
Jarkiholi did not see too many problems in forming the cabinet although the party is not likely to go against the template of giving representations to all communities. “The party’s decision is final in everything,” he added.
A Siddaramiah loyalist who declined to be named said Shivakumar was the best person to lead the party into the Lok Sabha elections. “There can’t be a better leader than Shivakumar to lead the party into the Lok Sabha elections since he is a brilliant organiser who can tilt the scales in our favour.”
The emphatic victory in the Assembly polls that saw the BJP reduced to just 66 seats has come as a shot inthe arm for the Congress, which is hoping to replicate the Karnataka template in the upcoming state polls in the north and later the Parliament elections.
“We could win just one of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. We must win at least 15 seats this time. This calls for continuing the work we started under Shivakumar’s leadership,” the Siddaramaiah loyalist said.