DKS gets nod for Karnataka Congress revamp

BENGALURU: KPCC president DK Shivakumar, who had been to New Delhi, met former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary and state in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, and discussions ranged from Covid management in Karnataka and how the Congress had worked for the pandemic-hit public in the past few months. The party, which rolled out ambulances and put up Covid Care Centres, is working a plan to meet Covid-affected families across the state.

Shivakumar told TNIE that the issue of total organisational revamp of the party was discussed, and that he had received the green signal to reorganise the state unit. He also said he had studied the party closely and has identified how it works.

The Karnataka Congress has a set of office-bearers, a legacy from former Deputy CM G Parameshwara’s tenure as state party president over a decade ago. Many office-bearers, then in their fifties, have aged considerably, and present a jaded image of the party.

Dinesh Gundu Rao, who had served as KPCC president after Parameshwara, did not revamp the party unit. While Shivakumar has been considering a fresh group of office-bearers for about a year, it appears the party leadership considered the revamp only now. Though elections to the Karnataka Assembly are due in April 2023, given the fluid political scenario, Congress sources feel it is best to be battle-ready right away.

Shivakumar said they also discussed the issue of grooming party candidates in more than 100 constituencies where BJP and JDS candidates had been winning for the past few terms. The Congress, which does not have winnable candidates in these constituencies, has been seriously considering identifying and grooming leaders here.

There is also talk that the party will take up an election popularity survey discreetly, to zero in on candidates. “The process of candidate selection will be taken up collectively. For now, the priority is to deal with Covid,’’ Shivakumar said.