Ibrahim exit threat betrays heating power game between Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah

Ibrahim’s resignation threat has come at a time when the tussle between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah had appeared to have settled down following the Congress’s good displaying in Meeting bypolls and Council elections ultimate 12 months and a united current of power displayed in the midst of the social gathering’s protest march for implementation of the Mekedatu consuming water problem earlier this month.Though his threat has additional to do with Ibrahim’s thwarted personal ambition and lack of Muslim leaders’ standing throughout the Karnataka Congress, it has moreover underlined that the social gathering’s administration is having fun with a balancing act by pandering to the requires of every the Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah factions.One of many points that Ibrahim appeared to suggest was that he had been let down by Siddaramaiah no matter being his loyalist – that when it received right here to deciding on the chief of the social gathering throughout the Legislative Council the latter didn’t bat for him, with the submit going to B Ok Hariprasad, a former MP considered close to Shivakumar.In a group of sarcastic suggestions, Ibrahim said Siddaramaiah had turn into an “orphan” throughout the Congress and so there was no one to speak for him. “Siddaramaiah has given me a present. He has delivered it by means of the Congress social gathering. I’ve accepted it fortunately,” he said. “Shivakumar and Hariprasad are a superb group, they’ve the identical mindset so the AICC (All India Congress Committee) appears to have made the appointment.”Ibrahim was a minister throughout the H D Deve Gowda-led United Entrance authorities. He switched to the Congress from the Deve Gowda-headed Janata Dal (Secular) in 2008. Siddaramaiah had moreover been with the JD(S) earlier.The AICC’s switch to nominate Hariprasad as a result of the Council’s Opposition chief received right here a day after it appointed a former minister M B Patil, a Siddaramaiah loyalist, as a result of the chairman of the social gathering advertising marketing campaign committee for the 2023 state Meeting elections.It’s an open secret throughout the Karnataka Congress that Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah don’t see eye to eye and are rivals throughout the chief ministerial race if the social gathering entails power subsequent 12 months. The 2 leaders can’t be additional fully totally different from each other, with Shivakumar dubbed a “capitalist to the core” and Siddaramaiah a “socialist”.Whereas every leaders are acknowledged to have a brash technique of dealing with social gathering colleagues, Siddaramaiah has found comparatively additional acceptability and loyalty among the many many Congress legislators. Shivakumar nonetheless earned additional political capital in present days by foremost the Mekedatu protest march.The Congress administration’s identify for sinking of variations and bringing the social gathering once more to power has resulted throughout the two leaders inserting up a united entrance in present days. Its good effectivity in present metropolis native physique elections and totally different polls earlier have moreover helped the social gathering paper over inside rifts.The simmering variations between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah surfaced ultimate October when two pro-Siddaramaiah social gathering functionaries’ dialog was picked up by microphones ahead of a press conference. This personal chat between a Congress media coordinator and a spokesperson dwelt on Shivakumar’s “shortcomings” as a result of the social gathering president and appeared to level their higher confidence in Siddaramaiah’s administration.Whereas Shivakumar has tried to inject new vitality into the Karnataka Congress after turning into social gathering chief in July 2020 amid the Covid first wave and lockdown, the vast majority of 68 social gathering MLAs are acknowledged to be additional aligned with Siddaramaiah.Shivakumar was appointed the state social gathering chief months after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over money laundering charges following an Revenue Tax (IT) investigation into his alleged tax evasion all through 2017-18. He is no doubt some of the wealthy legislators in Karnataka with property close to Rs 850 crore declared ahead of the 2018 Meeting polls.Since taking value as a result of the social gathering president, Shivakumar has tried to get the social gathering out of Siddaramaiah’s grasp by altering a variety of earlier functionaries alongside together with his private loyalists. On his half, Siddaramaiah has tried to handle his administration over the social gathering unit by guaranteeing that Shivakumar doesn’t have a unilateral run and is assisted by as many as 4 working presidents.Many Congress MLAs think about that Siddaramaiah is a additional versatile chief who doesn’t carry the luggage of pending circumstances of corruption or totally different monetary offences.A Congress half, nonetheless, moreover feels that every the leaders have various shortcomings and wouldn’t have the flexibility to capitalise on the anti-incumbency challenge in opposition to the incumbent BJP authorities and lead the social gathering efficiently throughout the 2023 polls.