The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Krishna group plans mega show to welcome him

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Friday, Mar 07, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Krishna group plans mega show to welcome him

S. Rajendran

‘Roadshow’ planned from Belgaum to Bangalore

Reception in Belgaum on
March 14
Senior party leaders to stay clear
of the event

S.M. Krishna

Bangalore: Elated by the impending return of the former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna to State politics, the pro-Krishna group in the Congress has chalked out a grand reception for him in Belgaum on March 14, not entirely to the approval of the State Congress leadership.

Mr. Krishna’s “roadshow” will start from Belgaum and end in Bangalore, a distance of nearly 600 km, and Congressmen who plan to receive him at the border city and accompany him through the journey are his ardent supporters.

The former Minister D.K. Shivakumar and party leaders Prakash Rathod, P.M. Ashok and Kenche Gowda are coordinating the event. Many senior leaders, including KPCC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC office-bearers, however have decided to keep off the show on the grounds that it is not a party programme.

Sources in the State Congress told The Hindu that Mr. Krishna was expected to be appointed chairman of the Congress Coordination Committee, which will work out and implement an election strategy that will involve all senior leaders.

This position is of the rank of an AICC general secretary, who is normally appointed to oversee elections in a State.

The Congress high command is expected to announce the appointment after the resignation of Mr. Krishna as Governor of Maharashtra is accepted by the President.

Whether the chairman of this body will enjoy a position on a par with that of the KPCC president is, however, not clear.

It is the first time that such a committee has been proposed, and it is believed to have been created to give Mr. Krishna a pivotal position in the party.

Senior Congressmen said that differences had already surfaced over the return of Mr. Krishna to active politics and the divide would be all the more evident during the roadshow.

As such, there were three groups in the State unit – the old guard of Congressmen, the Siddaramaiah group and the Krishna group.

As per the tentative programme finalised by the pro-Krishna group, the former Chief Minister who was initially scheduled to arrive in Bangalore on March 10 would now arrive in Belgaum on March 14.

After the reception and a public meeting, the roadshow would commence and proceed to Hubli-Dharwad. After an overnight halt, the next venue would be Haveri followed by Davangere, Chitradurga and Tumkur before the arrival in Bangalore.

‘Good decision’

The former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh has decided to stay clear of all controversies surrounding the return of Mr. Krishna to active politics.

He said: “It is a decision of AICC president Sonia Gandhi and as a loyal and disciplined Congressman, I stand by her decision. It is a good decision in the prevailing political situation in the State and will definitely strengthen the party in the run-up to the elections. It is also for the AICC president to decide on the next Chief Minister based on the outcome in the elections.”

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