‘If high command decides, I’ll complete my term’: CM Siddaramaiah on cabinet reshuffle

MANGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said he will abide by the Congress high command’s decision regarding any possible Cabinet reshuffle, adding that he is focused on completing his full term in office. Speaking to reporters in Mangaluru, Siddaramaiah said, “If high command decides, I will complete my term”.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister G Parameshwara said that statements by legislators on the leadership change and the reshuffle in the Karnataka Cabinet are irrelevant, as the final decision rests with the Congress High Command. He added that something may come up after the Bihar election results, when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will meet the party’s central leadership.

“Until and unless the party High Command indicates, nobody knows, and the statements coming from legislators are irrelevant. At this moment, I have not heard anything from the party high command. I think, after the Bihar election results, both the CM and Deputy CM will be going to Delhi, and something may come up”, Parameshwara told reporters. “Only the party High Command will take a decision on a reshuffle or changing the leadership,” he added.

The debate over the post of Chief Minister was again ignited by MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who indicated Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi as Siddaramaiah’s successor. Yathindra has subsequently clarified that Jarkiholi, a Nayaka community leader from Belagavi, is being seen as a successor to Siddaramiah’s ideology and ideological base of Ahinda.

#WATCH | Karnataka: “My statement was not about changing the Chief Minister. Because Siddaramaiah sir said that after 2028, he will not contest elections, I only said that after him, someone who believes strongly in Congress ideology, which is social justice, secular ideology,… pic.twitter.com/wFQuBu5d04

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2025

On Sunday, Yathindra stated that there was no mistake in his statement made in Belgavi. However, the MLC also said that he will not speak on the issue of Satish Jarkiholi potentially succeeding his father again. “There is no mistake in my Belgaum statement. I have already clarified this. Let’s see if notice comes in this regard. I will not talk about that issue again. I will not make any public statement in front of the media anymore,” said Yathindra, addressing the press.

Yathindra stated that his father, Siddaramaiah, is in the “final phase of his political career” and should mentor Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi. Yathindra said Siddaramaiah will not contest the 2028 elections. Discussing the state’s successor, Yathindra emphasised that many politicians follow the secular Congress ideology and said that Satish Jarkiholi should lead them. (ANI)