Siddaramaiah or Shivakumar: Who will occupy Karnataka’s top post? The question once again dominated political circles on Tuesday as speculation over a possible leadership change intensified within the Congress party. Rumours of Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah stepping downgathered pace following a key meeting in Delhi involving Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.
However, the Congress officially rejected the speculations over the leadership change and stated that no discussion over replacing Siddaramaiah as Karnataka Chief Minister took place.
"Today’s discussion was only around Rajya Sabha polls and MLC elections. Whatever you speculated is not true," Congress leader KC Venugopal clarified after hours long meeting in the national capital involving the party's High Command.
Seeking to put speculation to rest, Venugopal asserted that there was “no reality” to reports of a leadership change and said discussions focused on upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections in Karnataka.
Then, as if to underscore the party’s position, he repeated his clarification.
“Today we discussed the Rajya Sabha seats and Council seats of Karnataka. The candidates for these seats will be announced along with those from other states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. That’s all we have decided today. Nothing else was discussed,” he said after a marathon round of meetings that lasted nearly six hours.
The clarification, however, did little to calm rumours around an alleged power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar that has resurfaced repeatedly since the Congress came to power in Karnataka in 2023. Reports citing sources claimed Siddaramaiah was unwilling to step down, while others suggested internal discussions over succession were continuing behind closed doors.
READ MORE:Siddaramaiah Not Ready To Quit As Karnataka CM, Say Sources Amid Leadership Buzz
The reported development follows marathon meetings in Delhi, where senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have delivered a direct message to the veteran Karnataka leader: “You must give the next person a chance.”
However, the categorical rejection did little to dampen speculation surrounding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s future, with fresh reports continuing to hint at internal deliberations over the state’s top post.
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