Ahead of polls, Congress balances caste appeal

Following interactions with the party high command last week, it has been decided that KPCC president Mallikarjun Kharge, a Scheduled Caste member, would lead the party in the polls, while a recent entrant from the Janata Dal (Secular), Siddaramaiah, from the backward Kuruba caste, has been confirmed for the role of campaign chief.

The party is also set to obtain the services of JD(S) rebel leader and former Home Minister M P Prakash from the dominant Lingayat community, Kharge indicated on Wednesday.

Former Chief Minister S M Krishna, who belongs to the Vokkaliga community, is also tipped to be removed as Maharashtra Governor and return to active politics. He too will then be a key participant in the campaign in Karnataka.

A grand induction programme for Prakash as well as his and Siddaramaiah’s supporters is tentatively scheduled for January 27, Kharge added.

Krishna has held meetings with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and is reported to have discussed return to active politics. However, in the long run, he is touted to play a role in national politics, probably as a Rajya Sabha MP.

Since President’s rule was imposed in Karnataka following the fall of the eight-day-old BJP Government on November 8, the Congress has been in disarray, with confusion over who would lead the party.

While the BJP lost no time kicking off campaign tours across the state, projecting itself as a betrayed party and announcing sops for the rural sector like free power for farmers, the Congress was a picture of indecisiveness.

Even the JD(S) is preparing for elections, despite former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy being laid up following a heart surgery.

National president and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda is personally assessing the party’s grassroots position.