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Veteran Congress leader Veerappa Moily said the high command should have foreseen the circumstances of the turmoil and that it was not in the best interests of the party.
Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily. (PTI Image/File)
Karnataka Power Tussle: Veteran Congress leader Veerappa Moily took aim at the party high command in Delhi, saying it is responsible for the ongoing political turmoil in Karnataka and called for discipline before the grand old party loses the state.
“No doubt it’s political turmoil, or if it’s not yet, it will lead towards turmoil. Central leadership is responsible for that. They should know how to control it, but things are leading in different directions, which will spoil Congress in Karnataka,” Moily told news agency IANS.
The former Union Minister said that while the will of the high command must prevail, the situation has reached an extent where it cannot be resolved. He also said that leaders of the Congress party and the representatives of the top brass should have foreseen some of these developments.
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“That kind of situation should not have been created, and I regret that the otherwise conducive situation for the Congress party in Karnataka is being destroyed,” Moily said, adding that the power tussle was not in the best interests of the party.
Noting that different community leaders are pressuring the party to support either Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah or deputy CM DK Shivakumar for the top post, Moily said this was sending a wrong message and discipline is the need of the hour, otherwise the Congress will lose Karnataka to the BJP.
“At least until they call these leaders and sort out this matter, the AICC President or the High Command should direct the leaders to keep quiet. And, you know, now everybody is, practically, there is a free-for-all, practically an anarchy, and each community is taking its own cudgels. Some communities even say that they will not vote for Congress,” he added.
What’s Happening In Karnataka?
Moily’s remarks underscored the divergence within the Congress party as speculation rises over an alleged “power-sharing agreement” between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar dating back to May 2023, when the Congress swept back to power in Karnataka.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister’s post after the declaration of Assembly election results, and there were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a “rotational chief minister formula,” where Siddaramaiah would be CM for 2.5 years, while Shivakumar would take the role in the latter half.
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However, the party has denied such an agreement, and Siddaramaiah has insisted that he will serve as CM full-time. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have asked the high command to end the ongoing confusion over a possible transition, citing the damage caused by uncertainty around who the Chief Minister will be for the remainder of the term.
The Karnataka State Federation of Backwards Class Communities (KSFBCC) has warned Congress that any attempt to unseat Siddaramaiah in the wake of power strife in the state will have a bearing on the party. On the other hand, the Karnataka Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha has warned the Congress high command that it will fight vehemently if injustice happens to Shivakumar.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
November 28, 2025, 19:57 IST
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