As the dissidence in Congress reached a crescendo, it has also made divided factions among lingayats to come together to fight against the Congress High Command which has refused to listen to their demands.
After the formation of the Government led by JDs chief HD Kumaraswamy in a fragile coalition formation and subsequent cabinet expansion has led to major revolt by a section of powerful MlAs in the Congress which was rejected by the people of the State by giving them only 78 seats. It is clear indication many leaders based on the caste calculations have come out against the party high command after they were rejected by the party by refusing to make them ministers. Former water resources minister and a powerful lingayat Minister from North Karnataka MB Patil is taking the lead along with another lingayat leader and senior congress leader Shamnur Shivashankarappa who opposed lingayat division have joined to fight the party high command. Even though the party is putting a brave face about dissidence, they are shaken by the tremors they have sent.
A senior lingayat leader in the Congress said “ We are all elected for fourth or fifth time. We are true soldiers of the party. But party has not treated us well. We were promised a birth but someone in the party has influenced the high command not to include us in the cabinet. One thing is sure this has brought us together. We will fight together.”
lingayat leaders like MB Patil, who spearheaded the movement for a separate lingayat movement a masterstroke to garner lingayat votes for the congress has joined hands with another lingayat leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who opposed the division of lingayats within the party to fight for justice. HK Patil another Reddy lingayat, BC Patil, SR Patil significantly who resigned as the working president of the party , Iswar Kandre and as many as another ten lingayat leaders have joined the bandwagon of dissidence to fight the decision of the congress party. This has become a major headache for the Kumaraswamy government which is yet to start functioning.
Congress has 18 lingayat MlAs and only three have been inducted into cabinet ignoring senior members of the party. With more than 18 percent of the population lingayats are a dominant community and deciding factor in Karnataka politics. The division of lingayats has not yielded much needed results to the century old party which has to strategically go for an alliance with local JDs to keep the BJP away. An advertisement by the separate lingayat movement group in major newspapers has claimed the division has benefited the congress and many religious leaders who had supported the movement to divide the lingayats are now demanding ministries for the leaders who helped the congress to win as many as 78 seats.
“I am of the opinion that two Deputy Chief Minister posts must have been created. One for a leader from North Karnataka and one from the South. My self-respect is hurt. I must have been given a ministerial post in the first round of selection itself,” hurt MB Patil told the media.
Patil, who spearheaded the movement for a separate lingayat religion, said that he was disappointed that his own party had “dumped him”. “But just because they dumped me, I will not dump the Congress,” Patil said after meeting with Kumaraswamy.
He also said that he was not alone in this struggle and that there are 20 MlAs who are willing to join him.
Hunaswadi Rajan, editor in chief of Samyuktha Karnataka, a popular daily in Kannada says the next session will decide the fate of the Government. He said” dissidence and rebellion has so far refused to die down. It’s going to be testing time for the chief minister and the congress in the first session as they have to pass many bills. If they (dissidence) abstain it shows that the government is in a sticky wicket and an opportunity for them to prove their strength. This is a very fragile coalition. Groups within the party has emerged to establish their supremacy to fight the party high command.”
Congress and JDs are facing dissidence with many senior leaders miffed that they were not given ministerial berths. The Congress chose 14 legislators to become ministers in the coalition government. leaders including MB Patil, HK Patil, SR Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, Ramalinga Reddy, R Roshan Baig - all of whom were ministers in the previous Siddaramaiah government - are upset over being not being given a portfolio this time around. Satish Jarkiholi, told the media that he would soon resign from the post of AICC secretary. An insider in the party said this group which is akin to former chief minister Siddaramaiah who has been sidelined in the party is instrumental in strumming the dissidence.
Meanwhile Congress floor leader in the lok Sabha Mallikarjun M Kharge on Sunday said he would talk to AICC president Rahul Gandhi on filling the remaining six ministerial berths allocated to the party in the Congress-JDS coalition government to prevent dissident activity.
Under the power sharing agreement, the Congress has been allotted 22 berths and the JDS 12. The JDS-Congress cabinet was expanded on June 6 with the induction of 25 new ministers, after intense bargaining for ministerial berths. The Congress has left six vacancies to be filled under its quota and the JDS one.