State’s Dalit ministers plan unity convention
DK Suresh downplays speculation about his brother becoming CM, saying it’s fate. Meanwhile, Dalit ministers plan a gratitude conference for voter support.
Former Congress MP DK Suresh, on Wednesday brushed aside speculations over his brother and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar’s chances of becoming the next chief minister, saying that the matter was a question of fate, not politics.
“If it’s written in his fate, he will become chief minister. If not, he won’t. Why should we break our heads over it?” Suresh told reporters.
Clarifying his early remarks expressing a wish to see Shivakumar in the top post, Suresh said he was expressing a “personal wish” and not engaging in lobbying from within the party. “He is the state Congress president and deputy chief minister. It’s his duty to work hard and ensure there’s no black mark on the party. He’s doing that job well,” he added.
The comments came amid sustained debates hinting at a possible shift in the state’s corridors of power. They also came in the wake of a campaign launched by AHINDA organisations— representing minorities, backward classes and Dalits— urging the Congress high command to allow chief minister Siddaramaiah to complete a full five-year term. The campaign was spurred by Siddaramaiah’s recent comments stating that he would continue as chief minister with the high command’s approval.
Amid these developments, a section of ministers belonging to Dalit and tribal communities revived plans for a convention, titled “Dalita Aikyatha Samavesha” (Dalit Unity Conference), likely to be held in Chitradurga or Davanagere next month. Led by home minister G Parameshwara, the group— which also includes Satish Jarkiholi, KH Muniyappa, HC Mahadevappa and RB Thimmapur— said the event was being planned as a gesture of gratitude to Dalit voters who backed Congress during the 2023 assembly polls.
An earlier plan for the same convention was dropped after the party high command withheld clearance.
“Dalit voters wholeheartedly backed the Congress in the elections, and it is our duty to express thankfulness,” Parameshwara said on Wednesday after meeting his cabinet colleague HC Mahadevappa in Bengaluru. “We should tell them what the government has done for them and what is planned ahead.”
The ministers have pointed to Congress’s strong showing in reserved constituencies —31 of 36 SC and 14 of 15 ST seats — to argue that Dalit and tribal voters played a decisive role in the party’s return to power.
Speculation about a Dalit face for the chief minister’s post resurfaced recently after Siddaramaiah’s son and MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah described Jarkiholi as best suited to guide the party after his father’s retirement from active politics. Party workers in Kolar have also raised slogans supporting Muniyappa for the top post, while Parameshwara publicly endorsed him, citing his long record in public life.
But Muniyappa dismissed talk of any change in leadership. “Parameshwara is one of our most respected leaders. He served as KPCC president for eight years and as deputy CM. If there’s talk of a Dalit CM, he would be a natural contender. But this is not the time to discuss it. Siddaramaiah will continue for a full term,” he said.
Parameshwara maintained that holding a Dalit convention or raising demands from the community was not against the party’s interests. “We must listen to their demands and assure them of the future,” he said. Jarkiholi added that the ministers would “wait patiently” and act in the party’s interest.
The Congress high command’s response will be closely watched, given that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and his son, Minister Priyank Kharge, both belong to the Dalit community.
