BackKarnataka Cong unit rejig may be part of midterm poll plan
Congress is also trying to limit interference of its top leadership in the state unit’s reorganization processThough the two parties are trying to reconcile differences, the Congress can ill-afford to cede more ground in Karnataka, where it lost power in 2018 after completing a five-year term
PremiumThe decision of the Congress to reorganize its entire state unit is part of a larger plan to prepare itself for midterm polls, if the need does arise in Karnataka, according to a senior party leader.
Having suffered one of their worst defeats at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and its alliance partner, Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S), have prepared themselves for the worst in Karnataka where the two parties have unsuccessfully tried to overcome their insurmountable differences that date back several decades, especially in south Karnataka where its leaders and workers can barely see eye-to-eye.
“We can say that this is also part of our poll preparedness," said the senior Congress leader cited above, requesting not to be named.
The national unit of the Congress has dissolved the entire Karnataka unit barring its president (Dinesh Gundu Rao) and working president (Eshwar Khandre) after its drubbing in the parliamentary elections in which the coalition partners were reduced to one seat each while the BJP, riding the pro-nationalism wave led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, won 25 out of the total 28 seats in the state.
Though the two parties are trying to reconcile their differences, the Congress can ill-afford to cede more ground in Karnataka where it lost power in 2018 after completing a five-year term from 2013 to 2018. The party is also trying to limit the role of other leaders in the reorganization process so that it can revive and reinvigorate disenchanted cadre who appear to have strayed away from the Congress in the parliamentary elections.
The Congress has announced a three-month timeline to reorganize the Karnataka unit, including trimming down the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
The state party wants to ensure that it is not bullied by legislators who often have their way in the appointment of district and other local level leaders as that carries the risk of consolidating factions. The local party says it will have to limit interference even at the threat of a pushback if it truly wants to rebuild the party after the Lok Sabha election drubbing.
“We can withstand turbulence and pushback if we can be strict and not compromise," the leader mentioned above said.
The party has also asked its senior leadership not to speak on contentious issues such as the minority religion status to the Lingayats or conduct any other caste-specific events that would put the Congress in a tight spot.
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