Who Will Get The Nod?
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-05-16 07:30:56
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
There is no end to the Congress' troubles. After scoring an impressive win in Karnataka, the party finds itself in a dilemma over who to choose for the post of chief minister. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka PCC chief D K Shivakumar are both in contention and both are adamant that they want the top post. Shivakumar finds himself in the same position which Sachin Pilot was when the party won in Rajasthan in 2018. He toiled hard and kept the faith reposed in him by the party high command. He has said that the party asked him to deliver and he has delivered and now it is upon the party to take a decision. On the other hand, the seasoned campaigner Siddaramaiah is reported to have the numbers as a majority of the MLAs are reportedly in his favour. Both of them are currently in Delhi as the party high command gets down to the serious business of picking the man and his cabinet to govern the state and fulfill the promises made to the people of Karnataka.
Shivakumar had wished his senior all the best when he had gone to Delhi. He has made clear that he is not interested in sharing power. While expecting just reward from the party high command, Shivakumar has also made it clear that he is neither going to blackmail the party nor backstab it. The action now shifts to the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge (Sonia Gandhi is reportedly not going to meet both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar) who is meeting the newly-elected MLAs and is likely to take a decision, obviously in consultation with the Gandhis.
Apart from the chief minister pick, the Congress is likely to face problems in selecting the cabinet too as there is a cap on the size of the cabinet. As per Article 164(1A) of the Constitution, only 15% of the total strength of the assembly can be accommodated as ministers. In Karnataka that means the size of the cabinet can be only 33. With 135 MLAs and many aspirants for key ministries, apart from the fact that caste, community and other factors have to satisfied, the party is going to face many problems in constituting the cabinet. But the Congress will have to tackle these problems and tackle them fast. The people of Karnataka have given it a clear mandate to govern. It must sort out its internal problems fast and get down to the business of governing the state.
