The Congress in Karnataka has a new captain—troubleshooter D.K. Shivakumar. He has taken charge as the KPCC chief at a time when the party is facing an identity crisis. Mass defections, constant drubbings at the elections and a strong political opponent in the ruling BJP have lead to bitter factional feuds among the leaders while demoralising the cadres. But Shivakumar has a blueprint for the party’s revival and is placing his faith on the committed party workers to breathe life and vigour into the party.
In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Karnataka Congress president D.K. Shivakumar shares his plan to strengthen the party in time for the 2023 assembly elections and talks about the response of the Centre and the state government to Covid-19. Excerpts:
What is top on the agenda to revive the party?
My first agenda is to convert Karnataka Congress from a mass-based party to a cadre-based party. We will transform into a party that values the party worker and involves him in every decision as he is the voice of the common man. The voice of the party worker should be the voice of the party, too. I do not want to impose my ideas and decisions as I want people to hear the voice of the ordinary party worker.
The Congress's organisational structure at booth-level has weakened. How will a cadre-based party shape up?
I believe there already is a structure and presence of our workers in every booth. But we need to connect to them. We are working on identifying and grooming the local workers into leaders. There is a disconnect and that is the reason why Rahul Gandhi called for a programme—“Shakti”—to connect every party worker to the leadership.
What changes do you expect to make at the grassroots?
Today, we need to reach out to every voter. We no longer have the luxury of communicating only to the head of the family and be rest assured that all the family members would support us. Now, each member of a family thinks individually. The father has an opinion, which is not shared by his son. We want to decentralise the system.
How will you reach out to every voter and impress them, as every political party is wooing the common man?
The Congress has been a mass-based party appealing to all sections of the society. Our party was built based on a movement (the freedom struggle), but today, the messaging and the communication channels have undergone a sea change. While the ideology of the Congress will not change, its approach will be technology-driven. There are multiple platforms on mainstream and social media. We need to create a system at the booth-level and groom leaders who will reach out to the voters.
You have said winning every booth is the key to electoral success. Can you explain?
I am a party worker first and then the KPCC president. A booth-level worker is the key person for any party. In Kerala, we have a good model. The booth worker is the man who stands for the party and gets us the votes. The party should respect the booth-level worker. Anyone who aspires to be an office-bearer, the block president or youth Congress president, should have worked to strengthen his booth first. This will strengthen the organisation structure at the grassroot level.
How do you plan to fill the vacuum left by senior leaders who left the party?
Besides the leaders, I want their supporters also to return. We have constituted a screening committee to examine requests from leaders inclined to join the Congress. The panel's recommendation will be based on the feedback it gets from the local leaders and party workers.
Why do you need a screening committee if the idea is to expand the party?
Many leaders from other political parties want to join the Congress. The committee will consult the respective district and block-level committees and local leaders, before admitting the ‘migrant’ leader. A new entrant into the party should gel with the local leaders and party workers. Last time, when some JD(S) leaders joined the Congress, our cadres were upset and they shifted their loyalties to the JD(S). It was the JD(S) cadres, who came to the Congress along with their leaders, who supported our party. We lost some seats by a margin of 50,000 votes. We don't want to disrespect our cadres by imposing our decision on them. Any decision taken by the party should have the consensus of the party workers, too.
How do you rate the Covid-19 response of the Centre and the state government?
The Modi and the Yeddiyurapa governments have no eyes, ears or hearts. It is clear from their Covid-19 response. The Centre announced a Rs20 lakh crore package and the state government announced a Rs 1,680 crore package. But are benefits reaching the people? The food kits given during the crisis was part of the common minimum programme started by the UPA. We saw the food kits meant for migrants being distributed among the BJP supporters and voters. They put photos of BJP leaders on the packets. If the migrants had got food kits and money, they would have stayed back in Karnataka. The Congress extended all support to the ruling party during the Covid-19 crisis. But we were assertive and aggressive when we realised the people were suffering.
During the migrants crisis, the Congress was accused of playing politics as it staged a dharna and offered to pay the bus fare for migrants. Comments.
The Congress party is worried about the migrant workers as they are the sole breadwinners of their families. It is a fact that though they stay away from their homes, they have the power to influence their people back home. They tell their people who to vote for, or which party is good or bad. The IT guy, the government employee, the rich man, the poor man, each has a single vote. So, everyone is equal. We must listen and respond to every individual voice.
How will you ensure that the people get what is promised in the packages?
They have put in many rules and regulations in place to claim the benefits. This is not practical. The government wants to discourage people from availing the benefits. The barber or the washerman needs to access an app and fill in his information to avail the benefit. Is it not a joke? There are better ways to do it. The village officers can get the details and photograph of everyone eligible for benefits with just a mobile phone, and disburse the benefit (money) on the spot. You can authorise the tehsildar to sign the cheque. We want to ensure that the packages do not remain as announcements.