CM Siddaramaiah, DyCM DK Shivakumar resume shadowboxing after Hassan rally discord

BENGALURU: With the byelections behind them, it appears that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar are back to shadowboxing, with the former’s supporters miffed over the latter allegedly hijacking Thursday’s rally in Hassan. The question now is whether Siddaramaiah will abide by the Congress high command’s decision to transfer power after two-and-half years to Shivakumar. Responding to the CM’s statement, Shivakumar said with a hint of sarcasm, “Our CM’s decision is final and I have no objection to it.” Thursday’s rally was first planned by Siddaramaiah’s supporters under the Shoshita Samudayagala Okkuta to ensure that AHINDA -- acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits -- back him when he faces the MUDA case. It was named ‘Swabhimani Samavesha’ but a Congress leader reportedly wrote an anonymous letter to AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge, alleging that the event was designed to give Siddaramaiah a boost. While the CM was convinced the Samavesha would be held under the auspices of the Swabhimani alliance and Congress, Shivakumar managed to convert it into the Congress party’s Samavesha and renamed it Janakalyana Swabhimani Samavesha, which did not go down well with Siddaramaiah’s sympathisers.