Surjewala’s arrival for another round of reviews sparks fresh turmoil in Congress | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Congress national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, who oversees Karnataka, is facing a backlash following his latest visit to Bengaluru, which marked the beginning of his third round of performance review meetings with ministers.His arrival Monday and closed-door interactions with ministers BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan and Byrathi Suresh have deepened unease within the party. One-on-one meetings with other ministers are scheduled to continue through Tuesday and Wednesday.Just days earlier, Surjewala had met nearly 90 Congress MLAs to hear their grievances and restore discipline within the party. The move came after several legislators, including seniors such as BR Patil and Raju Kage, had publicly criticised the govt’s functioning, especially highlighting ministers’ inaccessibility. Surjewala had promised to address their concerns and push for development funds for their constituencies, a huge gripe.However, rather than calming tensions, Surjewala’s outreach appears to have intensified the ongoing factional feud in Congress. Rival camps led by chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar have engaged in an open war of words over who should be CM. Siddaramaiah even publicly claimed that more MLAs are aligned with him than with Shivakumar.Although Surjewala clarified that his visit had nothing to do with the tussle, several MLAs remain unconvinced. Some believe the series of meetings is a covert effort to assess the strength of the two camps. While most disgruntled legislators refuse to comment in public, murmurs suggest that a few are preparing to formally complain to the high command against Surjewala.“I have already spoken about the leadership issue, as Shivakumar deserves to be CM,” said HC Balakrishna, Magadi MLA. “Now, I don’t want to talk about it since Shivakumar himself has instructed us to exercise restraint. We have decided to leave it to the high command.”In a twist, discontent isn’t confined to the Shivakumar faction. Even Siddaramaiah’s loyalists are reportedly unhappy with Surjewala and are exploring ways to pressure the high command to replace him. Ministers like KN Rajanna have already gone public with their displeasure.A large section of MLAs is also pushing for a cabinet reshuffle based on Surjewala’s performance review. Sources say a rejig could happen by Nov, when the govt hits the midway point in its term.Trying to downplay the unrest, some senior functionaries defended Surjewala. “This is not the first time that Surjewala is assessing the performance of a minister,” said Priyank Kharge, minister for IT-BT and rural development and panchayat raj. “He conducted similar exercises last year. We are answerable to our high command and voters, so ministers are ready to be assessed. There is no difference of opinion on it.“