All India Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said there won’t be any more deputy chief ministers in Karnataka.
He also said there is no proposal before the party high command. “You (media) can pose this question to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar in this regard,” he told reporters here.
The statement comes in the wake of growing demand within the Congress party to appoint three DyCMs to strike a caste balance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this year. The demand is also being made to check DyCM Shivakumar’s influence, who is on par with CM Siddaramaiah.
“Such demands should not be entertained until the goal of implementing guarantee schemes is achieved,” Kharge said. The meeting will be held on January 10 over the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections from Karnataka and discussion will be held on fielding candidates, he said.
Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa, a close associate of CM Siddaramaiah and a Dalit leader from Mysuru, had said that there was nothing wrong with pitching for DyCMs. Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna also demanded the creation of DyCMs.
Satish Jarkiholi, a bete noire of Shivakumar, already has submitted before the party high command for the creation of three DyCMs during his visit to New Delhi.
