Amid reports of tension within the Karnataka Congress, two senior ministers, Satish Jarkiholi and Lakshmi Hebbalkar, got into a heated argument over taking credit for the construction of the party office. This development has raised questions on leadership and unity within the party.
Credit dispute: Jarkiholi vs Hebbalkar
According to a Times of India report, the controversy came to light during a party meeting on Monday. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar praised Lakshmi Hebbalkar for the construction of the district level party office in Belagavi. Then Satish Jarkiholi interrupted and said, “You are giving credit to Hebbalkar, but remember that I have spent Rs 3 crore on this building. My brother Ramesh, who is now in BJP, has also contributed Rs 50 lakh.”
To this Hebbalkar said, “Satish is like my brother, but I don’t understand why he targets me again and again. This is the time to strengthen the party, not to fight amongst ourselves.”
Randeep Surjewala gave advice to maintain peace
Seeing the tension rising, Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala directed both the ministers to remain calm and focus on strengthening the unity of the party.
Strict message to party leadership and legislature party
The Congress high command has given clear instructions to Karnataka MLAs to avoid public statements and follow the party’s decisions. This message was given in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting held on Monday evening. Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh were also present in this meeting.
Speculations about change of leadership intensified again
The recent dinner hosted by Siddaramaiah at the residence of minister Satish Jarkiholi with select Dalit and Scheduled Tribe leaders has fueled political speculation. It is being said that there could be a change of leadership under “power-sharing” after the state budget in March.
After the victory of Congress in the 2023 assembly elections, it was agreed that the post of Chief Minister would be given to Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar one by one. However, there is no clarity on this yet.
Congress leadership alert
The Congress leadership has become alert amid the deepening dispute within the party and speculation about change of leadership. MLAs have been instructed to follow the party line and avoid making unnecessary statements in the media.
