DK Shivakumar swears-in as new KPCC President
Bengaluru: D K Shivakumar on Thursday officially took charge as president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee after over three months since he was appointed to the post.
Called "Pratijna Dina", the function to mark the official take-over of Shivakumar as president, along with Eshwar Khandre, Salim Ahmed and Satish Jarkiholi as working presidents of KPCC, is said to have been digitally witnessed by lakhs of people from over 15,000 places.
Following the restrictions in place to control the spread of coronavirus, the ceremony was organised at the party's new office building.
Aimed at mobilising the party leaders and cadre, arrangements were made at panchayat and ward-level across the state to see to that they are part of the function through live telecast on TV channels, Zoom, YouTube and social media.
The official take-over saw immediate past president Dinesh Gundu Rao handing over the Congress flag to Shivakumar, and this was followed by party workers across locations, who were digitally watching the function, taking oath and reading the preamble of the Constitution.
The ceremony was held on Thursday after it was postponed thrice due to COVID-19 related restrictions in place.
The Congress high command had on March 11 appointed Shivakumar, a six-time MLA, known to be the Congress's chief troubleshooter in crisis situations, replacing Dinesh Gundu Rao as the KPCC chief.
Rao had quit the post in December after the party's dismal show of winning only two of the 15 seats in the bypolls.
A written message by AICC president Sonia Gandhi was read out by party general secretary K C Venugopal in which she appreciated the judicious use of technology to mobilise the workers and leaders.
Former Congress national president Rahul Gandhi telephoned Shivakumar and asked him to work for the party's success by taking everyone together.
Venugopal, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, former state Congress presidents, former and present party legislators and MPs, Congress leaders from neighbouring states were among others who attended the function here, virtually.
Addressing the partymen, Shivakumar, vowing to convert Congress in Karnataka as a cadre-based party, said he was just a party worker and believes in collective leadership.
"Joining together is the beginning, thinking together is progress, working together is success," he said, while remembering that he was being written off during his arrest in a money laundering case, but Sonia Gandhi picked him for the post and even came to prison and spent time with him.
Stating that Congress should come to power again on its own in the state, Shivakumar spoke about implementing the Kerala model.
"Theres the Kerala model. All big leaders there must represent their booth. We have to follow the Kerala model...," he said.
He continues to have a tough task ahead in taking together the faction-ridden party. There were reports of Siddaramaiah being in favour of one of his confidantes to be made state president.
According to many party insiders, he is said to be the man behind the idea of three working presidents seen as a move loosen Shivakumar's grip on the party.
Several other leaders had also opposed Shivakumar's name, citing his recent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
However, Shivakumar's loyalty, roles that he has played in the party's interest during troubled times, worked in his favour. Many feel his appointment would help in consolidating the party in southern parts of the state, where Vokkaligas are in large number.
Considered as Congress's man Friday, Shivakumar had hosted party legislators from Gujarat here in 2017 to ensure the victory of AICC leader Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha elections.
He was a key link in the Congress-JDS coalition and had made hectic attempts to prevent the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led government last year after a section of the then ruling MLAs revolted.
Speaking at the take-over function, Siddaramaiah said, "Our aim is to remove BJP and bring Congress to power once again to save the country."
He lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of lying and betraying the people. He hit out at the government for its handling of COVID crisis and economy.
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“BJP's biggest success has been…” Stand-up Comedian explains party’s pattern of setting narrative
New Delhi: Stand-up comedian Abhijit Ganguly expressed his observation about the perceptions of progress under the BJP government in India. Ganguly pointed out that the BJP's greatest success has been in convincing their fanbase that something positive is happening somewhere, even if it might not be apparent to everyone.
He noted that many people, who have not utilized certain services, confidently believe that improvements have been made, despite those who regularly use them knowing otherwise.
According to Ganguly, there seems to be a disparity between perception and reality. For instance, people who have not traveled by train for years confidently assert that India's trains are improving, but regular train commuters are well aware of the truth. Similarly, air travelers might believe that airways have improved, but those who have recently used flights understand the challenges, such as inflation and declining service quality.
"BJP's biggest success has been in convincing their fanbase that something good is happening somewhere, maybe not around you. People who have never stepped on trains for years say with confidence India's trains are doing so much better, but the ones using it know the truth. Train using folks are meanwhile thinking airways has become better while those using flights know how much inflation and bad service has plagued it recently. Service people taxed heavily are thinking okay my taxes are heavy, but ease of doing business is getting better and India's a success story, while people in business know if anything it should be renamed to difficulty in doing business and most business success stories are in spite rather than because of the government,” he stated.
He pointed out that salaried middle-class individuals might feel the impact of inflation, while they believe that direct benefits are helping farmers. However, farmers know the reality of the heavy taxes they are facing on fertilizers and pesticides.
“Salaried Middle class people thinking that inflation is there for me but for farmers etc. direct benefits helping them, while farmers know how much taxes they are having to pay on fertilizers pesticides etc.” he further wrote.
Ganguly's post highlighted a common pattern, there seems to be an overarching narrative that something good is happening, although it may not be experienced firsthand.
BJP's biggest success has been in convincing their fanbase that something good is happening somewhere, maybe not around you. People who have never stepped in trains for years say with confidence India's trains are doing so much better, but the ones using it know the truth. Train…
— Abijit Ganguly (@AbijitG) April 20, 2024
