The factions in Karantaka Congress led by State Congress President D K Shivakumar on one hand and Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah on the other continue to show signs of tension despite efforts to maintain a picture of unity in the State Congress.
The leaders of the two factions are supposedly working to ensure the support of maximum MLAs within the party to acquire the position of Chief Minister if Congress comes to power in the state elections scheduled on May 10. These attempts follow the recent discontent between the factions over allocation of probable tickets in the state.
While D K Shivakumar attempts to garner the support of Congress MLAs by offering assistance for election expenditure to a large number of party legislators in several districts including Belagavi, Siddaramaiah’s attempts were revealed through the speeches given by eminent party MLAs, for instance former assembly speaker K R Ramesh Kumar and former Janata Dal leader Y S V Datta.
Besides the discontent over allocation of tickets in the state, the selection of candidates in several constituencies has also been an issue of contention and difference among the factions. There has also been constant bickering among the members belonging to the two factions over the 100 constituencies where candidates have not been finalised.
This was written by Ms. Anshika Gupta, Intern, All India Legal Forum.
ALL INDIA LEGAL FORUM 