Karnataka leadership tussle: Siddaramaiah to meet DK Shivakumar over breakfast on Thursday

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to hold a key breakfast meeting with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar at the Chief Minister’s official residence ‘Cauvery’ in Bengaluru at 9 am on Thursday, amid continuing speculation surrounding a possible leadership change in the Karnataka Congress.

The proposed meeting has triggered fresh political discussions within the state Congress unit as conversations over a potential leadership transition have resurfaced intermittently over the past several months, despite repeated assertions from the party leadership dismissing such reports.

The development comes shortly after a high-level Congress meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday, attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Following the meeting, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal clarified that the discussions were centred only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Karnataka Legislative Council elections and not on any leadership change in the state.

“…we had a detailed meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, general secretary incharge of Karnataka (Randeep Singh Surjewala), and I were part of the discussion. The entire discussion was concentrated only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Council Elections of Karnataka,” Venugopal said.

He further termed reports of leadership change as “speculation” and stated that announcements regarding candidates for the Rajya Sabha and Council elections would be made along with those for other states.

Speculation around leadership change in the Karnataka Congress has been brewing since the government completed its two-and-a-half years of tenure last year. It gained further traction after sections of supporters of DK Shivakumar over the past 18 months suggested he could eventually take over as Chief Minister.

At the same time, some Congress workers have also voiced support for senior Congress leader G Parameshwara for the top post in the state, adding another dimension to the internal political discussions within the party.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is also scheduled to participate in multiple programmes in Bengaluru on Wednesday, including events commemorating the 62nd death anniversary of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

According to the official programme schedule, Siddaramaiah will attend a Nehru remembrance programme at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office in Bengaluru at 10.30 am, followed by another tribute event at 11.00 am in front of the Vidhana Soudha. No official press conference has been scheduled as of now. However, officials indicated that additional information regarding the Chief Minister’s engagements may be shared later in the day.

Some Congress workers are also rallying behind G Parameshwara for the top post. The upcoming breakfast meeting between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar is now being closely watched in Karnataka political circles for any indication of coordination or internal discussions within the state leadership. (ANI)