AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge's 1999 CM Miss Sparks Speculation Amid Karnataka Power Tussle Between Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar

Bengaluru: AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge's outburst over a missed opportunity to become Karnataka Chief Minister in 1999, has raised many questions as to if he is also a contender for the coveted post in the State.

Kharge's outburst comes at a time when Karnataka is abuzz over leadership change as per agreement made in 2023, when the party came to power. While Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is the front runner and said to have blessings of the Congress high command, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his supporters are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that Shivakumar doesn't become the Chief Minister.

Siddaramaiah supporters have gone even to the extent of pleading with Kharge to impress on the high command to instill a Dalit Chief Minister, in case Siddaramaiah has to be changed. They have also said that they did not have any problem in accepting Kharge himself as the Chief Minister.

On Sunday, attending a function at BLDE (Bijapur Lingayat District Education) Deemed University, Kharge said: ``As Congress Legislature Party Leader, I had brought Congress party to power. I had worked hard to bring the party to power, but S M Krishna was made the Chief Minister,'' Kharge said.

He looked at the Seer of Beli Mutt, who was also present in the function and said: ``Swamiji, I put so much effort and all my efforts were washed away in the water. I have come up in politics step by step.I started as a block Congress President and today, I am AICC President. I was never after power, but power has come to me,'' he said.

However, Kharge's outburst did not stop at Vijayapur. When he returned to Bengaluru, the media wanted to know why the appointments to Boards and Corporations were being delayed.

Irked by the question, Kharge retorted: ``Why are you asking it with me? Ask your chief minister Siddaramaiah.''

It was an unusual behaviour of Kharge, who always maintained composed posture when he was in Karnataka politics. In 1999, he was also a front runner for Chief Minister's post. However, the then KPCC President S M Krishna had a major role to play too. A year before the elections, Krishna took over as the KPCC President and toured the entire state under the `Panchajanya Yatra' banner. The inner fighting in Janata Dal, which ultimately resulted in the split of the party into JD(U) and JD(S) benefited the Congress, while BJP had not much grass root level support in the state.

But now, Kharge's outburst has raised the question if he was ready to take the mantle of being first Dalit Chief Minister of Karnataka with the support from Siddaramaiah faction.