If the Congress plays its cards right, it has a chance of winning, but Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar’s chief ministerial dreams could be in jeopardy
date of issue: April 24, 2023 , Updates: April 14, 2023 20:22 IST
Senior Congress leaders DK Shivakumar, G. Parameshwar and Siddaramaiah at a protest against the BJP in Bengaluru, Mar. 24. (Photo: AFP)
AleIn August, much before the start of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari, the Congress in Karnataka swung into election mode with a show of strength that raised alarm bells for the state’s ruling BJP. It was the occasion of former chief minister Siddaramaiah’s 75th birthday, for which his loyalists had taken out a rally in Davanagere, the likes of which had not been seen in recent years, with crowds turning out to block a highway passing through the town in central Karnataka Was. However, before that event, the central Congress leadership was wary of a key factor that could distract the party from its effort to reclaim power in Karnataka – the competing ambitions of Siddaramaiah and state Congress president DK Shivakumar.