New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday discussed Congress' strategy regarding Karnataka with state unit chief DK Shivakumar and CLP leader K Siddaramaiah amid concerns that the ruling BJP may advance the 2023 Assembly elections.
The crucial meeting came amid concerns the BJP may hold the election along with Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh towards the end of this year. According to Congress insiders, the BJP has been playing its aggressive Hindutva card in the southern state over the past few months and may opt to benefit from its similar poll pitch in Gujarat and Himachal.
Recently, Shivakumar had claimed that an internal survey had placed the Congress on a come-back trail in Karnataka but party insiders said they need to be prepared for any surprises from the BJP.
The Congress is also concerned over the draft delimitation report of the Bengaluru municipal authority, approved recently by the state government, in which the number of wards in the capital city has gone up from 198 to 243. Congress has opposed the draft report saying the panel did not hold any consultations with the locals.
Party insiders fear the move to delimit the Bengaluru civic body wards may prove to be an advantage for the BJP when the polls are held in October or November. “If they decide to advance the assembly polls, they may put the Bengaluru civic body polls on hold,” said a party insider.
The Congress-JD (S) coalition government had come to power in 2018 but the BJP later toppled it to grab power. The Congress, which senses an opportunity in the next Assembly polls, does not want to take any chances, said party insiders.
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As the Karnataka Congress gets into election mode, there have been concerns over the leadership issue in the state given both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are strong contenders for the chief ministerial post. However, party insiders said that Rahul may avoid the projection of a chief ministerial face and instead opt for the collective leadership model.
“The collective leadership model keeps the top state leaders focused on the bigger aim of winning the elections. Who gets what can be discussed later?” said a senior AICC functionary. Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah were in Delhi recently to participate in a show of strength against ED summons for Rahul in the National Herald alleged money laundering case.
Both have been regularly targeting the state as well as the central governments. Siddaramaiah recently came out against the revised textbooks and urged the state government to stick to the old ones.
