The Congress party is facing challenges from the state leadership in Karnataka as one of its ministers and Congress leader KN Rajanna on Monday put forward a demand for additional Deputy Chief Ministers in Karnataka. He asked the party high command to consider the request.
KN Rajanna said that many ministers in the Karnataka cabinet think that the communities who support the grand old party should get the opportunity to become the deputy chief minister, adding that the process was delayed because of the Lok Sabha elections.
He said, "Because of the parliament elections, it was delayed. I want the party's high command to consider my request. Many ministers think that many communities who are supporting the Congress party should be given representation of Deputy CMs. But I am not the aspirant."
The demand for more Deputy Chief Ministers was also raised before the Lok Sabha elections by the Congress leaders.
DK Shivakumar, only DCM in Karnataka government
It is pertinent to note that DK Shivakumar, who is the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), is the only deputy chief minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet. Congress won the assembly elections last year and dethroned BJP’s Basavaraj Bommai government. The Congress won 135 seats in the state assembly elections. BJP was reduced to 66 seats. In the tripolar contest, the regional JDS party managed to win only 19 seats. Independent candidates won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha won one seat each.
Earlier in 2018, BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats but fell short of majority. In the hung assembly, BS Yeddyurappa took oath as CM and got 15 15-day time period to prove the majority in the house, which was challenged by the opposition in the Supreme Court. The political strife that emerged due to this ended up in the fall of the BJP government and the formation of a coalition government of Congress and JDS with HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister.
(With ANI Inputs)
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