In Congress hot seat, KC Venugopal treads softly, but with a big stick

Bengaluru: On a day when the new AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, K.C. Venugopal arrived in Bengaluru for deliberations with senior leaders, the prime question which popped up in most Congress leaders' minds was whether he would oversee a change of guard at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), or whether he would persist with the status quo of having a Dalit KPCC president (Dr G. Parameshwar), a Backward Class CM (Siddaramaiah) and a Brahmin KPCC working president (Dinesh Gundu Rao) rather than upset the apple-cart and create new centres of dissent?

Not one to spill the beans easily, Mr Venugopal kept everyone guessing, maybe because he is aware that senior leaders including Dr Parameshwar and Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar, would very much like to be in the KPCC hot seat in an election year as they can vault into the CM's chair in case of a Congress victory.  With just a year to go for the 2018 Assembly polls, clear divisions have emerged in the state Congress on this issue with the camp followers of KPCC president Dr Parameshwar, D.K. Shivakumar and CM Siddaramaiah  busy  'selling' their  ideas on who should ideally head the KPCC. Followers of Dr Parameshwar assert that any change of leadership before the polls will upset the caste calculus which has been the fulcrum of the party's winning strategy.  "The Dalit-Backward Class-Brahmin axis we now have in the Congress, is most suited to win the majority of seats assuming that the minorities will automatically vote for the Congress. Siddaramaiah's pick for KPCC chief, S.R. Patil, a Lingayat, would have been a good choice if he had been installed soon after Dr Parameshwar was appointed home minister. Now we are close to the polls and if the party decides to replace our leader, it will be doing so at its own peril," warn Dr Parameshwar's supporters. Not willing to give up easily are diehard supporters of Vokkaliga strongman Mr Shivakumar, who aver that there is no better choice than their leader in an election year. They claim that he is the only leader who can win over youngsters cutting across caste lines because of his dynamism. "Shivakumar is known for his flamboyant style of politics which inevitably attracts the youth. Therefore, he is the best choice for KPCC president when polls are nearing," his supporters contend.

Siddaramaiah's  supporters however claim he will have the last laugh as it is the will of the CM which ultimately prevails in such appointments, especially after he ensured a brilliant victory for the party in recent bypolls. "Siddaramaiah has delivered-both in governance and in the bypolls-so his choice will be final," they argue.  Either way, for KC Venugopal the biggest challenge is to keep the divisive Congress flock together.