Karnataka High Court ruling on MUDA case probe a political setback to Siddaramaiah?

The Congress high command knows well the popularity of the Chief Minister in Karnataka and that his support was crucial for the party in the coming elections elsewhere too

The High Court of Karnataka ruling on conducting an investigation into the alleged illegalities committed in the allotment of 14 Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife is seen as a political setback to the Congress leader, who has had a “Mr. Clean” image in his political career spanning over four decades.

Besides the continuation of the legal battle, the alleged MUDA scam is expected to lead to another round of confrontation between the ruling Congress and the Raj Bhavan. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues are finding themselves on the back foot to defend themselves to counter a collective onslaught from the BJP and its ally, the JD(S), in the alleged MUDA and Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scams.

Also read: MUDA case Highlights

With the Chief Minister having decided to challenge the court’s ruling, it seems the State government is unlikely to take any major decisions related to reshuffling the State Cabinet and holding elections to rural and urban local bodies, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, in the near future.

Further, Ministers and leaders believe that changing the Chief Minister under the present circumstances would lead to the admission of committing wrong and falling to the trap laid by the Opposition parties.

Role in future elections

With the Chief Minister openly declaring that he has not committed any mistakes in the alleged MUDA scam, sources said the party high command was unlikely to take any major decision such as resignation. The high command knows well the popularity of the Chief Minister in Karnataka and that his support is crucial for the party in the coming elections/byelections in three Assembly segments and local bodies in Karnataka and in other States where the Assembly polls will be held, said sources.

The Assembly election process is under way in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. The Election Commission is expected to hold polls in Maharashtra in November-December. As Karnataka is a key State where the Congress is in power, the party high command is believed to be against changing the Chief Minister at this juncture, sources maintained.

No consensus candidate

A party leader said besides Mr. Siddaramaiah, “there is no consensus candidate” among the legislators to emerge as the chief ministerial candidate and this is the major reason for Ministers backing his leadership.

With the BJP and JD(S) combine having begun to seek the resignation of the Chief Minister, the Congress is expected to use its OBC plank to counter the Opposition. The Congress has been projecting the probe into the alleged MUDA land scam as a ploy to target “an OBC Chief Minister” by the BJP-JD(S) and to topple the implementation of pro-poor schemes such as the five guarantees.

The special court for people’s representatives is expected to hear complaints about the alleged MUDA scam on Wednesday. Till then, the party leaders have decided to adopt a wait-and-watch policy and are expected to take a decision on the way forward only after the special court’s ruling on the matter, a legislator said.

Published - September 25, 2024 07:07 am IST