Siddu to visit Delhi after Budget session

Shyam Sundar Vattam| NT

Has a rift set in between KPCC chief DK Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah after the rally held at National College Grounds in Bengaluru to mark the conclusion of the Mekedatu padayatra when Siddaramaiah was given a chance to address the function last?

If sources are to be believed, the former CM is planning to visit Delhi after the end of the ongoing Budget Session of the Legislature to meet former AICC President Rahul Gandhi and request him to clip Shivakumar’s wings. The former CM is also not happy with the manner in which padayatra 2.0 was held from Ramanagar to Bengaluru as it looked like a one-man show of Shivakumar with no one else taken into confidence.

The divide was more than evident during the padayatra with legislators and workers preferring to move with either of the two senior leaders who are both aspirants for the CM post. In fact, before the commencement of the padayatra, Rahul Gandhi had called 19 leaders from Karnataka to Delhi mainly to impress upon them the need to make it look like a party function and not promote any individual.

But what happened was exactly the opposite. Supporters of Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah had put up banners, cutouts and flex boards all along the padayatra route. There were hardly any banners with the pictures of all leaders in it. Even poll ticket aspirants took advantage of the padayatra to boost their image by putting up temporary stalls to distribute juice, tender coconuts, breakfast, lunch and snacks for the rallyists. What upset Siddaramaiah was the virtual ‘hijacking’ of the show by the Kanakapura Bande’ right from the first edition of the padayatra.

Last month, when the Assembly was adjourned over the saffron flag row involving KS Eshwarappa, Shivakumar was away from the state capital attending a function in Nagamangala. At that time, Siddaramaiah led a delegation to meet the governor seeking his intervention in the flag controversy. The see-saw battle has been going on for quite some time since the day Shivakumar became PCC President.

With hardly a year left for the Assembly polls, the onus is now on Rahul and Sonia Gandhi to sort out differences of opinion as it may also impact the selection of candidates since both leaders have reportedly made promises to candidates of their choices.