BENGALURU: Chief minister Siddaramaiah’s statement that he would step aside if party bosses decide to replace him with a Dalit, has triggered a debate over the long-pending demand of the
Dalit community to see their person in the coveted post, ahead of the election results.
Some see the statement as an attempt by Siddaramaiah to stop state JD(S) president
HD Kumaraswamy from staking claim for the CM’s post if the results throw up a fractured verdict, and is not really meant to push the Dalit cause. Others dismissed it as an off-the-cuff statement.
Karnataka, since its formation, has never seen a chief minister from the Dalit community, which constitutes around 24 per cent of the state’s population, and is a big factor in around 80 seats. There are many aspirants for the CM’s post in the Congress, including party leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun
Kharge and KPCC president
G Parameshwara. In fact, the community is still upset with the Congress leadership for shifting Kharge to national politics to clear the way for Siddaramaiah, after his entry into the Congress.
According to a senior Congress leader, Siddaramaiah played the Dalit card tactfully as he doesn’t want to see Kumaraswamy as CM, in case the Congress joins hands with the JD(S), post results. “The bitterness between Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah is well known, and both will do everything possible to stop each other from becoming CM. Siddaramaiah has played his card now,” he added.
He also said that Siddaramaiah wants the Dalit issue to gain traction and gather mass, when both parties sit across the table to decide on the nitty-gritty of the pact. “Now that murmurs have already started in the Congress, the statement has served its purpose to some extent. If the demand grows louder post results, it will become difficult for both Congress and JD(S) to turn down the demand so easily,” he maintained.
Political analyst Mahadev Prakash also believed that Siddaramaiah’s statement is primarily aimed at stopping Kumaraswamy from becoming CM, besides projecting himself as a champion of the Dalit cause. “It is a political statement, and is evident if one reads into the statement carefully. Siddaramaiah has clearly said that if the party gets a majority, the opinion of MLAs becomes important and we cannot impose a Dalit CM. What does it mean?” he asked.
The demand for a Dalit CM was first mooted two years ago by a section of Congress leaders when G Parameshwara was denied a ministerial berth in the Siddaramaiah government. However, it lost steam after he became home minister.
