Bengaluru:
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar met for breakfast on Saturday, as the Congress leadership pushed for peace between the two senior leaders. The meeting was held to calm the ongoing tension inside the party over the Chief Minister’s post.
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‘Will follow whatever high command says’
After the breakfast meeting with Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, in a press conference, said, “Our agenda is the 2028 elections. Local body elections are important. We discussed bringing back Congress in 2028. We will go together. There are no differences between us, and there will be no differences in the future.”
The CM added, “We have decided that we will follow whatever the high command says. There will be no confusion from tomorrow. Some media reporters have created confusion, but there is none.” He hit out at the BJP and JDS, saying, “They make false allegations. They talk about a no-confidence motion, but they don’t have the numbers. We are 140. This is a futile exercise, and we will confront their claims.”
On reports of MLAs visiting Delhi, Siddaramaiah clarified, “Some MLAs may want to become ministers, but that does not mean they are against the leadership. Whatever the high command says, we will go by that.”
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, “With the support of all of you, we have brought the Congress government and we are working as per our promise. The people of the state are giving their full support. We have to fulfill their wishes. We are working in that direction… whatever the high command says, we will follow that, and there is no group. Even now, we are working together. Whatever the CM said, I am with the CM. We are working together…”
Long-running tussle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar
The tension between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar has been simmering for a long time. During the Karnataka elections in 2023 the Congress is believed to have explored a formula that would allow both leaders to share the Chief Minister’s post by splitting the five-year term.
With Siddaramaiah now completing the halfway mark of his tenure, voices within Shivakumar’s camp have begun urging that he should be given the top job for the remaining period.
Siddaramaiah, however, has repeatedly rejected talk of any such arrangement. He maintains that he will serve out the full five years as Chief Minister. His son, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, also echoed that only the Congress high command has the authority to make decisions on leadership changes—and that there has been no sign of such a move.
“There is no internal fight. There is no confusion,” Siddaramaiah told reporters on Friday. “The media is creating this perception. The high command has not said anything about a leadership change. If they ever want to discuss it, they will call us.”
