Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s loyalist and Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna’s proposal of having three more Deputy Chief Ministers in the Congress government in Karnataka appears to be a move to checkmate Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is positioning himself as the successor to Mr. Siddaramaiah.
Besides being State Congress president, Mr. Shivakumar’s steady rise in the government by holding plum portfolios of Bengaluru Development and Water Resources and his “domineering attitude” in officials’ meetings has not gone down well with loyalists of the Chief Minister, it is learnt.
Moreover, Mr. Shivakumar holding many meetings with VIPs and corporate leaders to discuss issues of governance too have reportedly irked some seniors in the government. As the KPCC president, Mr. Shivakumar’s decision to induct some of the BJP and JD(S) leaders into the party, without consultation, too seems to have rattled a few party leaders, sources in the party maintained.
