It appears that Sonia Gandhi’s plans to kill two birds with a single stone by offering Karnataka Strong man Siddaramaiah national stage are falling apart. If the Congress High Command had hoped to thwart the turf war with rival faction of D Shivakumar by bringing the veteran and Siddaramaiah to Delhi, it seems unfounded so far as the canny Siddaramaiah has refused to leave the state he aspires to be Chief Minister once again.
It is learnt that Siddaramaiah was offered the responsibility of AICC General secretary in-charge of a key state along with an offer to make him one of the working presidents of Congress as part of the future plan where Rahul Gandhi would take over as President with three to four working presidents from different regions of country.
However, a seasoned politician Siddaramaiah has expressed his disinclination towards the idea muted, taking the Top leadership by surprise. Though Siddaramaiah is nursing Chief Ministerial ambitions a well-known fact, it was expected that he would toe the High Command line the way Mallikarjun Kharge did in 2009.
While party feels that a leader of Siddaramaiah’s experience, regional appeal and popular support base would be an ideal high level office bearer in the AICC, Siddaramaiah seems to have his own understanding of the party’s strength and scope at national level for choosing to refuse the offer. Also, he seems wary of the rivals conspiring to get rid of him at state level.
