CLASH OF AMBITIONS

THE CONGRESS SEES A WINNING CHANCE IF IT PLAYS ITS CARDS RIGHT, BUT THE COMPETING CHIEF MINISTERIAL DREAMS OF SIDDARAMAIAH AND D.K. SHIVAKUMAR COULD TURN SPOILSPORT

- Ajay Sukumaran

LAST AUGUST, MUCH BEFORE RAHUL GANDHI'S BHARAT JODO YATRA commenced from Kanyakumari, the Congress in Karnataka got into election mode with a show of strength that set alarm bells ringing in the state's ruling BJP. The occasion was former chief minister Siddaramaiah's 75th birthday for which his loyalists mobilised a rally at Davanagere, the likes of which hadn't been seen in recent years, with crowds spilling over to choke the highway transiting through the town in central Karnataka. In the run-up to that event, however, the central Congress leadership was wary of one crucial factor that could distract the party from its attempt to reclaim power in Karnataka-the competing ambitions of Siddaramaiah and state Congress president D.K. Shivakumar.

Siddaramaiah's birthday on August 3 was deftly turned into a party event in which Shivakumar, 60, clasped hands with his senior colleague as Rahul Gandhi looked on approvingly, even nudging the two to hug each other. The competition between these two leaders, both chief ministerial aspirants, is the biggest intrigue in the Congress, even though both have been careful about keeping up that image of bonhomie. The critical reason for this is that the Congress, despite its struggles elsewhere in the country, sees a chance to win back power in Karnataka if it plays its cards right. For Shivakumar, who took over as state president in 2020, a year after the BJP toppled the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government in the state, it is crunch time now, with less than a month left for the assembly election due on May 10.