Karnataka election is a litmus test for Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge

After taking over the reigns of Congress, veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge faces his first litmus test in his home State of Karnataka. Known as "sole illada sardara" (a leader who has never lost), Kharge has been an MLA for nine terms in over 37 years and held almost all important positions in the party and government, though he was never the Chief Minister of the State.

Kharge was very close to becoming the CM of Karnataka thrice - in 1999, 2004 and 2013, but narrowly missed the opportunity. Despite this, he remained a staunch loyalist of the Congress. These factors make Kharge a well-respected leader within the Karnataka Congress unit. With elections round the corner, the Congress leader's thorough understanding of the State politics and his organisational skills will be put to test in Karnataka.

Ensuring a victory in Karnataka will be most crucial for Kharge's image as the president of the grand old party. It will certainly raise his stature not only in the party and the State but also at the national level as he can in a way justify his hold the high post.

More importantly, a win in Karnataka would also facilitate Kharge to come out of the shadow of the party high command (read the Gandhis). It will also be a befitting reply to the BJP which always keeps taunting him with barbs like 'remote-controlled', 'dummy', 'pet dog' and what not. It will also instil a sense of self-respect in the non-Gandhi president of the oldest surviving party.

Factionalism in Congress

The biggest challenge for the Congress chief is to reign in rabid factionalism in the State unit. Obviously, Kharge is in a tough position amid a game of one-upmanship between its two top leaders - former CM Siddaramaiah and unit president D.K. Shivakumar. Both are in the race to occupy the Chief Minister's chair in the event of the party capturing power.

Adding to the fire, Siddaramaiah's loyalists like B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, among others, is openly backing their leader as the party's CM face in defiance of the party diktat. This has not gone down well with Shivakumar and some old guards in the party.

Political pundits say that there are more voices in favour of Siddaramaiah compared to Shivakumar among the legislators, and this has rattled the KPCC chief who firmly believes "this is his time, as the party president is a natural contender for CM post in the event of the party's victory."

With Siddaramaiah repeatedly claiming that this will be his last election, his camp also strongly feels he should be given one last opportunity to the coveted post, as Shivakumar has age on his side; while the latter's supporters are of the view that their leader should be given a chance now, as the former has already occupied the CM post between 2013-18.

Hinting that he won't let it go easily, Shivakumar himself had recently said, "Even in 2013 when Congress came to power, he (Siddaramaiah as CM) did not take me as a minister initially. I had worked for his victory, but I kept quiet. We all had fought elections under his leadership, I had then worked as campaign committee chief."

Shivakumar said that despite Siddaramaiah losing in one (Chamundeshwari) of the two seats, he had contested in the 2018 elections and he, along with then KPCC chief G. Parameshwara, had ensured he got elected as the Legislature Party leader.

Having switched to Congress from JDS, Siddaramaiah was popular as CM because of his populist "Bhagya" schemes and has a pan-Karnataka image, but failed to bring the party back to power in 2018 despite all his populism.

Factionalism is not new for the Congress, but it needs to be seen how Kharge handles it and brings the party back to power in Karnataka, the only citadel of the ruling BJP in southern India.

Though opinion polls have favoured the Congress in the upcoming elections, it is not going to be a cakewalk for the grand-old party to form government on its own as the surveys have also predicted a hung Assembly and JDS is expected to play the king-maker role again.

The 'son rise' factor

Moreover, Kharge has also come under attack within the party over the growing influence of his son Priyank Kharge. Many believe that, practically Priyank is running the party in the State on his father's behalf. The Congress chief will have to handle the issue carefully and keep his son under check.

At the national level, it is imperative for the Congress to win in Karnataka to dent the BJP chances in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and as the national president of the party, it becomes obligatory for Kharge to ensure it.