Grand extravaganza on cards as DK Shivakumar takes charge as Karnataka Congress president on July 2

A grand ceremony is on the cards as senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar formally takes over as president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. The ceremony will take place on Thursday at 10:30 am. The state unit of the party is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that Shivakumar’s assent to the helm of Congress’ state affairs is a mega affair.

Shivakumar’s welcome as party president is going to be one which no Congress unit in the country has ever accorded to a leader for his or her elevation to the post.

Shivakumar is often referred as the Congress’ chief troubleshooter and his close proximity to the Gandhi family is known to all. The politician, 58, who served as a minister in the state, said that he wants to take his coronation ceremony to every gram panchayat in the state.

In order to make the event an extravaganza and a grand success, the Congress has released advertisements in newspapers and appealed to the public to join Shivakumar when he takes over as the KPCC president.

The party has installed LED television screens at 7,800 locations across the state. This includes 6,200-odd gram panchayats. All will be connected using the Zoom platform, a report in The Indian Express said.

According to Shivakumar’s claim, a total of nearly 10 lakh people will witness the function. “They will take the pledge with me,” Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar said he wants to convert the Congress’ mass base into a cadre base and this will be his first agenda after taking over as the KPCC president.

“The voice of a Congress worker should be the voice of the Congress president… What is the desire of the masses has to be first viewed by the leader and then it should be presented to the leadership,” he told The Indian Express.

In Bengaluru, a big screen will form the backdrop of the main function wherein images of the functions taking place at these 7,800 locations will be shown.

Shivakumar has a tough task on hand. The party’s state unit is divided into many factions. There have been reports that the senior leaders don’t see eye to eye. The Congress’ high command had in 2017 considered elevating Shivakumar to the post, but it couldn’t materialise following opposition by many leaders.