How Randeep Singh Surjewala is key to containing internal powerplay in Karnataka Congress

Soon after Iqbal Hussain, a Congress legislator from Karnataka, claimed last week that DK Shivakumar might become CM within months, it led to unrest within the party camp. Again stirring the debate on rotational chief minister formulae, where the current chief minister Siddaramaiah would step down to make way for Shivakumar.

Although the party has officially denied any such development, the core issue in Karnataka Congress is the under-the-surface friction between the two camps led by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. Notably, it is the general secretary in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala who has been getting into firefighting mode to resolve the matters from time to time.

According to senior leaders in the state, it is Surjewala, from the day one of his appointment as Karnataka supervisor, who coordinated between the two state-level heavyweights and maintained the balance in the party. "Surjewala gets along well with Siddaramaiah as well as Shivakumar. And both the leaders take him seriously. Therefore he has become very important with respect to Karnataka."

Surjewala is widely known to have expressed his desire to work in Haryana as state unit president. But a section of senior leaders feel if he moves away from Karnataka, the situation there can become volatile," a senior Congress leader at the AICC said.

According to party insiders, the managerial performance of Surjewala has not gone unnoticed. "The top leadership of the party has appreciated his thorough investment in Karnataka," a party insider said, "And therefore he has full confidence and support of the top leadership."

A week earlier, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala travelled to Bengaluru to address tension among Congress MLAs, who expressed concerns over delays in government's development works and fund allocations.

Surjewala met with around 100 Congress MLAs on June 30 to asses their performance and invalidate speculation about replacing the chief minister Siddaramaiah, and moreover confirming his continuation in office.  

India