BENGALURU: DK Shivakumar is seen as someone who is willing to take the fight to the BJP camp. He has fire in the belly and is considered to be the best bet among the current crop of Congress leaders to revive the party’s sagging fortunes in the state. But the task ahead of him is daunting. The Vokkaliga strongman’s appointment as president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) is likely to energise the party cadre and shakeup the state leadership that was in total disarray after back-toback defeats in elections.

The real task before the new chief will unravel once the celebrations are over. For the former minister, who is also embroiled in a number of cases registered by the Income Tax (I-T) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), the first task would be to put life back into the Grand Old Party and unite its faction-ridden unit. According to analysts, his challenges include consolidating Vokkaliga support base in the Old Mysore region and wooing Lingayats in the North, while avoiding antagonising his party leaders with his aggressive working style. Though the BJP has managed to make some inroads into Old Mysore region in the last few years, the dominant Vokkaliga community largely backs former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his party. Shivakumar will be looking to make a dent in the JDS’ vote base and stonewall BJP’s march into the Vokkaliga bastion.

The task isn’t easy, considering that the Gowda family will be fighting to protect its turf and the BJP is systematically working on its strategy. However, if projected as the CM candidate after next elections, Shivakumar may gain more influence over the community, analysts say. Gaining the confidence of Lingayat community in North Karnataka is equally difficult. The Grand Old Party had started losing its base after Janata Party formed its government in the state in early 1980, but a big blow came after the Lingayat community dumped Congress after Veerendra Patil was sacked unceremoniously in 1990. The community did not support Congress thereafter.

Now, to signal its support to the Lingayat community, Eshwar Khandre, a Lingayat leader, has been retained as the Working President. Political analysts believe that appointing a strong Vokkaliga leader as KPCC chief would help Congress in a big way. Currently, Deve Gowda secures around 90 per cent of Vokkaliga votes in South Karnataka and BJP gets around 90 per cent Lingayat votes in North Karnataka. “If Shivakumar manages 25 per cent of those votes, Congress will gain significantly as its traditional voters will continue supporting the party. Its vote share has always remained over 35 per cent and they just need to take it to little over 40 per cent to come to power,” said a political analyst, closely tracking the state’s elections trends over the last four decades.

“If anybody in Congress can do it now, it is Shivakumar. He has the mass base and is willing to spend money and galvanise the cadre. He has the courage to fight a political battle,” says political analyst Prof Sandeep Shastri. By continuing former CM Siddramaiah as the Leader of Opposition and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) chief, the party hopes to gain through the Siddaramaiah- Shivakumar combination. But two power centres could pose a fresh headache for the party leadership.