The suspense for the Karnataka Chief Minister seat has moved from Bengaluru to Delhi, with both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar in the national capital to discuss with the Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar met senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at her residence on Wednesday, fuelling speculation about leadership change. Shivakumar remained tight-lipped about the details of the discussion. "I visited the place," he merely said.
While both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar said their Delhi visits are state project-related, the timing of their suggested meetups with the Congress high command has raised eyebrows as they come hot on the heels of Karnataka MLAs indicating a possible Bengaluru leadership switch.
Responding to a press meet in Delhi this morning, Shivakumar stated he had requested an appointment with Rahul Gandhi. "But today he is in Patna. Perhaps tomorrow we will meet," he added. He also mentioned he had not met UPA chairperson and senior leader Sonia Gandhi. "I have not met Sonia Gandhi. I have asked for a time.”
The Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister added that he was in Delhi to talk about irrigation projects and request financial aid. Emphasising that there isn't any cabinet reshuffle in Karnataka planned, he declared, "The Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) is here to meet the Defense Minister. The meetings are for development purposes."
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Directing his attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party-governed Centre, he alleged the government is muzzling the voice of Opposition. Talking about the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of elector rolls months before state elections, he complained, "Every citizen of Bihar should have their right. Suddenly, they are asking for many documents. The parents of many voters are in heaven, how will they provide the documents EC is demanding?"
Senior Congress leader and the party's Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala was in Bengaluru and has been holding consultations with MLAs to sort out differences in the Congress. When asked about the buzz on the change of leadership, Surjewala replied that such calls are up to the party high command.
Regarding Surjewala camping in Karnataka, Shivakumar added party chief Kharge desires the entire organisation to be transformed at the district level. "I have sent teams to the districts. Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal held the meeting, and I was there also. We want to restructure the setup. We debated its advantages and disadvantages. It is the responsibility of general secretary Randeep Surjewala to meet them. I have asked Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to establish foundation stones of new buildings. There's no speculation from our end. The speculations are on your end," he said to the media. The BJP, however, has been emphasising that the Karnataka government is poised for a change of leadership.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah dismissed talk about a likely change of leadership. He asserted that the Congress government would be "as solid as a rock" for five years. Shivakumar, also, has made it clear that he will abide by the party line and show-caused an MLA asking him to make him Chief Minister.
The present turmoil regarding the Chief Minister seat dates back to the 2023 election outcome when Congress achieved a resounding victory.
Shivakumar was, at that time, viewed as a prime candidate for the chief position for his contribution towards the victory of Congress. The Congress leadership finally convinced him to be content with the Deputy Chief Minister and state party head positions. Certain reports had subsequently stated that a deal of rotational chief ministership had been finalised, but that never materialised.
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