Siddaramaiah, DK Delhi meet fuels buzz

Amid buzz over a leadership change and Cabinet reshuffle in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar are scheduled to meet the Congress high command on Tuesday. Both the leaders left Bengaluru for New Delhi in separate special flights late evening.

As the Government completed three years in office on May 20, Siddaramaiah favours a Cabinet reshuffle, while Shivakumar wants the party to decide on the leadership change first, according to party sources. Discussions may also involve upcoming elections to four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, of which Congress can win three and the rollout of SIR of electoral rolls in the State, they added.

Supporters of Shivakumar have been insisting on his elevation in line with a reported power-sharing agreement with Siddaramaiah when the party won the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.

Siddaramaiah has repeatedly asserted that he will complete full five years. Shivakumar, on his part, has consistently maintained that he will abide by the Congress leadership’s decision, and time will reveal the outcome regarding the CM change.

Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress high command invited him to Delhi for a meeting. He, however, said he was unaware of the meeting’s agenda. “I’m invited to Delhi. Tomorrow there is a meeting by 11 am. I don’t know the subject. But I’m invited. Last night, KC Venugopal called me and intimated to me about the date and the meeting,” he said. Some Ministers considered close to the CM, like Satish Jarkiholi, G Parameshwara, HC Mahadevappa, are also headed to Delhi.

Meanwhile, responding to reporters’ queries on his Delhi visit, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, said, “I’m going.” As per the Deputy CM’s tour plan shared with the media, Shivakumar left for the national Capital to meet Union Ministers on Tuesday. Not wanting to respond to a question about the CM change issue, Shivakumar said, “I don’t know about it, I don’t want to comment on it, it’s not my job.”

However speaking to reporters, AICC General Secretary Incharge Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Rajya Sabha elections have been notified, Council (Legislative Council) elections will happen after that. The party continues to have consultations. So please do not speculate. I quash all other speculations.”

Several party leaders are worried that the leadership issue is impacting governance and the image of the Congress government. They have openly demanded that the high command resolve the issue, keeping the party’s prospects in the 2028 Assembly polls in mind.

Several AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits) leaders in the party, seen as part of Siddaramaiah’s camp, want one of their own to occupy the coveted post if the leadership changes. Also, there is a demand for a “Dalit CM,” with AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge’s name being floated by a section of the party, along with Home Minister G Parameshara.

Demand has also grown from a large section of Congress MLAs, who are ministerial aspirants to effect a Cabinet reshuffle, and give some of them an opportunity to serve as ministers by replacing a few existing ones.”