Mysuru: The district Congress unit is witnessing an uneasy calm amid ongoing political developments in the state. While most leaders believe chief minister Siddaramaiah will complete his five-year term, grassroot workers remain anxious as they await the high command’s decision.According to MLAs and senior functionaries close to both the chief minister and the deputy chief minister, the entire episode is taking the sheen off the achievements of the state govt. They have urged the high command to resolve the issue by taking all leaders into confidence. One of their concerns is that any split within the party may result in lose of power, similar to other states where the party is currently struggling to strengthen its footing.According to two senior party functionaries from the city, the high command should not have allowed the situation to escalate. “Karnataka is the only major state where the party is in power on its own. For the last few months, people have been talking about dissent within the party, instead of developmental works,” they pointed out.“The CM and DCM are like two eyes of the party in the state. The high command should follow BJP’s Assam formula, where Himanta Biswa Sarma was given the chief minister’s post after serving as the DCM for five years,” one of them said.A leader close to the chief minister said he is not showing any signs of relinquishing the top post or receiving any instructions from the high command. “He is calm. He is not showing any urgency in making decisions,” he said.Congress MLAs are treading cautiously in the neighbouring district of Mandya, which is considered the Vokkaliga stronghold.According to University of Mysore (UoM), department of studies in political science head Krishna R Hombal, true democracy can flourish only when each political party strengthens internal democracy. “It must tolerate the dissent. Transition in leadership should be endorsed by elected MLAs,” he said.
