Karnataka: As Shivakumar-Siddaramiah Squabble Over CM Post, Will State Get Its First Dalit CM As A Compromise Choice?

Despite scoring a resounding victory in the recently-concluded state assembly elections, the Congress high command is caught in a quandary about the choice of the next chief minister.

It was widely believed that high command anointing Siddaramaiah as next CM was a foregone conclusion but a determined bid by Karnataka Congress president D.K Shivakumar has queered the pitch for the party.

The internal bickering between Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah for the chief ministerial post could potentially set stage for the state to get its fist Dalit CM, incidentally long-festering demand among the section of the community.

Amid stiff competition between him and Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar has reportedely pitched national Congress chief M Mallikarjun Kharge for the top post. During the confabulation with party leadership, Shivakumar is believed to have requested Kharge to take over as CM thereby indirectly indicating that he was unwilling to join a government under Siddaramaiah.

Shivakumar's astute move to prop up Kharge is viewed as a clever attempt by him to checkmate Siddaramaiah's prospects.

Shivakumar is also known to be playing the 'native versus migrant' card. The Vokkaliga strongman has long believed that Siddaramaiah as been disproportionately rewarded for someone who was a fairly recently defector to the party.

Shivakumar's tacit support to Kharge, an 80-year-old leader from the Dalit community, has also led to claims for the top post from senior leaders of the community including former deputy CM and former state Congress chief, Dr G Parameshwara

Signalling his willingness for the key post, Parameshwara said that if the Congress high command gives him the responsibility he will strive to fulfil it.

Parameshwara said the high command is aware of his service to the party and he doesn’t feel the need to lobby for the post. “If the high command decides and asks me to run the government, I’m ready to take up the responsibility,” the former deputy chief minister told reporters in Bengaluru.

Even in the run-up to the elections, Parameshwara has often been vocal in expressing his ambition for the top job.

In February 2023, Parameshwar said at least ten leaders of Congress aspire to become the chief minister and he was one among them.

"Why am I in politics? To come to power; everyone has aspirations. About 10 leaders have aspirations in our party (to become the chief minister) and I'm one among them," Parameshwara said while speaking on the sidelines of an event held in Tumakuru district.

In February 2019, Parameshwara (then the deputy CM in Congress-JD(S) coalition government) caused a stir by claiming he was deprived of the top post because of discrimination against Dalits.

"I am a victim of suppression and hence couldn't get the CM's post. I reluctantly accepted the Dy CM's post, in which I was not interested," he said while addressing a meeting organised by Chalavadi Mahasabha.

Parameshwara noted that Congress leaders in the state from the Dalit community, including B Basavalingappa, KH Ranganath, and Mallikarjun Kharge, were kept away from the top post despite having suitable credentials and experience.

"All of them could have become CMs, but were victims of Dalit suppression," he said. Parameshwara said he came for the Chalavadi Mahasabha to voice his disappointment and seek the community's support.

Karnataka has never had a Dalit CM. There has been pressure from a section within the Congress to consider this, as several capable leaders in the party are from the community.

Since 1952, the state has seen nine Lingayats (B.D Jatti, S. R. Kanthi, S.Nijalingappa, Veerendra Patil, S. R. Bommai, J.H Patil, B.S Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, Basavaraj Bommai), six Vokkaligas (Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Kadidal Manjappa, H. D. Deve Gowda, S.M Krishna, H.D Kumaraswamy and Sadananda Gowda), three OBCs (S.Bangarappa, Veerappa Moily, Siddaramaiah), two Brahmins (Ramakrishna Hegde, Gundu Rao), one Rajput (Dharam Singh) and one Arasu (Devaraj Urs) as C.M.s.

Huge Dalit Support For Congress In Assembly Polls

Even a cursory analysis of recent assembly polls suggests that Dalit vote consolidation was among the key reasons that helped Congress secure the huge victory. As per the India Today Axis My India exit polls, the Congress has enjoyed a 14 percent increase in the Dalit votes in the state.

Dalits in Karnataka, encompassing 101 castes, are historically divided into two main categories - 'Edgai' SC (Left), or the Madiga, and 'Balgai' SC (Right) or the Holeya ( some prefer Chalavadis). The third category is the "touchable" castes, such as Lambani and Bhovi, who do not belong to the left or right grouping but are believed to have benefited the most from the reservation.

The SC(Left) or Madigas, who form a big chunk of the Dalit population in Karnataka, also seem to have returned in larger number to the Congress fold this time. 

Cutting across sub-castes, the Dalit community in the state used to form a huge support base of Congress in the state. However, SC (Right) dominated political representation in the party, especially the preponderance of Holeya members in the legislative assembly compared to the minuscule representation of Madigas. 

Congress's Dalit leadership is also dominated by SC (Right). Kharge, Parameshswara and former Union Minister K.H Muniyappa all belong to SC (Right) category

Dalit politics in the state, however, began to change a decade back thanks to some deft social engineering and sustained outreach initiatives by Sangh Parivar organisations. BJP began gaining significant support among the SC (Left), especially the Madiga community.

While Lingayats form the bulwark of the BJP support base in the state, the party could successfully add SC(Left) to its social coalition. Disillusioned with the Congress appeasing the SC (Right), Madigas voted in large numbers for the BJP in 2008, helping it capture power in the state.

BJP also managed to win the backing of Basavamurthy Swami, an influential seer of the Madara Chennaiah Gurupeetha Math in the Chitradurga district. BJP also promoted leaders within the SC(Left) especially Govind Karjol, a Madiga, who served as Deputy Chief Minister in B.S. Yeddyurappa ministry.

The recent decision by the BJP government to increase the SC quota and introduce internal reservation within the overall 17 per cent quota failed to enthuse the community.

The demand for internal reservation within the SC quota in Karnataka has been a long-standing one by various Dalit groups in the state. Despite repeatedly promising to reconfigure the internal reservation matrix, no government so far has dared to implement it for fear of antagonising sub-caste groups.

It was finally left to the incumbent Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government to demonstrate sufficient political courage to devise and announce the sub-quota formula. But the election verdict suggests that it failed to attract votes.

On the other hand, Congress appears to have recovered lost ground in the recent elections. Karjol himself suffered a defeat in this elections

The party won the backing from union of 12 influential Dalit groups, Aikya Horata Samiti, which declared support for it in the assembly elections.