JD(S) national president H.D. Deve Gowda and the newly elected state president H. Vishwanath demanded better representation for their party in the Congress-JD(S) coordination committee.
"We have not taken a call yet. There are five members in the panel now; three from their party and two from ours. Our question is if they are inducting their party president into the committee, they must also induct our party chief. We have not discussed the matter yet," Deve Gowda told reporters.
The five-member coordination committee, headed by former chief minister Siddaramaiah, comprises Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, JD(S) national general secretary Danish Ali, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara and AICC leader K.C. Venugopal. There have been talks of Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao being inducted into the panel.
Siddaramaiah, however, is opposed to inducting Vishwanath, a fellow Kuruba from his hometurf Mysuru, into the committee.
"The committee is formed for smooth functioning of the coalition. But no one has the discretion to prevent induction of the party presidents," said Vishwanath, who quit the Congress and got elected from Hunsur on a JD(S) ticket.
The power tussle within the coalition parties became apparent recently when Siddaramaiah, during a public meet, declared that he would once again become the chief minister. His statement created a frenzy in the political circles. Though Siddaramaiah later clarified saying he had only expressed confidence that the Congress would come to power in the next assembly polls and he would be the chief minister, it was enough to rattle the coalition partner JD(S).
Even as Siddaramaiah's supporters, including party MLAs, hailed his leadership, Agriculture Minister Shivashankar Reddy's remark that the chief minister could be changed if the coordination committee so wished triggered speculations of a change of guard in the state.
Annoyed with the Congressmen, Kumaraswamy chose to remind them that the coalition government came through to keep the BJP out of power. He also indicated that there was a strong possibility of an alternative forum coming to power at the Centre after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress, with its pan-India presence, should play a decisive role. "The Congress high command has confidence in me," said Kumaraswamy.
Even as the coalition parties are hard bargaining to increase their strength in the committee, growing resentment among the party cadres, in a state headed for local body polls, has added to the woes. The local leaders are confused over the bonhomie of their party leadership with the arch rivals as the political battles at the grassroots has always been bitter.
The Congress leaders, who fear that the coalition will weaken the party in the long run, are also rallying behind Siddaramaiah.
According to sources, Parameshwara and Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar cosying up to JD(S) while singling out Siddaramaiah has not gone down well within the party.
Siddaramaiah has openly admitted that forces opposed to him had come together to deny him a second stint as the chief minister.
Meanwhile, the AICC general secretary Venugopal has convened a meeting on September 1 and 2, to apprise the performance of the Congress ministers.
The party is yet to fill up it's share of four vacancies in the state cabinet and is hoping to pacify disgruntled MLAs by inducting them into cabinet. It remains to be seen if cabinet expansion would trigger unrest or lead to a truce.