DK Shivakumar appointed Karnataka Congress chief, Anil Chaudhary to head Delhi unit
That Shivakumar is being probed over alleged corruption and money laundering charges seems to be of little consequence to the Congress
Congress central leadership on Wednesday appointed disputed veteran leader DK Shivakumar as the chief of the Karnataka Congress, replacing Dinesh Gundu Rao who held the post until now. On the other hand, Anil Chaudhary has been appointed as the chief of the Delhi unit of the grand old party.
According to reports, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on this day authorised the appointments of Shivakumar and Chaudhary.
Dinesh Gundu Rao had resigned from his post as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) last year after the party's debacle in the state which led to the collapse of the Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition government. In Delhi, outgoing chief of the local Congress unit Shubhash Chopra had resigned, owning moral responsibility, after the party failed to win even a single seat in the recently conducted Delhi state assembly elections.
That Shivakumar is being probed over alleged corruption and money laundering charges seems to be of little consequence to the Congress, as the veteran leader was still appointed to his new post as the KPCC president. The move seems like a bold statement from Congress, coming soon after it suffered a surprise blow in Madhya Pradesh where senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia ended his 18-year-long association with Congress and joined the BJP, on this very day.
Soon after Shivakumar's appointment, former Karnataka Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Siddaramaiah congratulated him on his appointment to the post. Taking to Twitter, Siddaramaiah said that he was "confident" that Shivakumar will "further strengthen the party".
"My hearty congratulations to DK Shivakumar for being appointed President of INC Karnataka. I thank Sonia Gandhi for appointing the new President. I am confident he will further strengthen the party and also the party workers will strengthen him," Siddaramaiah posted from his official Twitter handle.
Siddaramaiah is the leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Besides Shivakumar, Sonia Gandhi also approved the appointment of Eshwar Khandre, Satish Jharkiholi, Saleem Ahammed as the working presidents of Karnataka.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, besides Anil Chaudhary, Sonia Gandhi approved the appointments of Abhishek Dutt, Jaikishan, Mudit Agarwal, Ali Hassan and Shivani Chopra as the vice presidents of the Delhi Congress.