Chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar on Tuesday met Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the Mysuru airport.
Gandhi met the two leaders briefly during a stop at the airport on his way back to New Delhi from Tamil Nadu’s Gudalur.
The meeting, during which Gandhi met both leaders together and also spoke to them separately, has intensified speculations about a resolution to the state’s internal leadership questions.
According to a Congress worker who spoke on condition of anonymity, Gandhi did not issue any clarification on whether Siddaramaiah would continue as chief minister.
An aide of Shivakumar, also speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that Gandhi appreciated him for refraining from encouraging the ongoing speculation of a tussle for power.
Speaking to reporters after Gandhi’s departure, Siddaramaiah said that the speculations were baseless. “You (media) are the ones speculating. There is no such issue in the party.”
Responding to questions of certain MLAs declaring loyalty to Shivakumar and setting speculative deadlines for a change of guard, he said, “The MLAs don’t know the details, and the high command has not informed them. We will abide by the high command’s decision.”
Regarding AICC president Mallikarjun M Kharge’s statement that local leaders should resolve the issue, the chief minister said Shivakumar and he had discussions and even visited each other’s houses for breakfast. The CM presented Gandhi with a miniature replica of the Mysuru Palace, while minister KJ George gifted an elephant figurine. Shivakumar did not interact with the media.
{{/usCountry}}Regarding AICC president Mallikarjun M Kharge’s statement that local leaders should resolve the issue, the chief minister said Shivakumar and he had discussions and even visited each other’s houses for breakfast. The CM presented Gandhi with a miniature replica of the Mysuru Palace, while minister KJ George gifted an elephant figurine. Shivakumar did not interact with the media.
{{/usCountry}}The ongoing leadership speculation has been shaped by a power-sharing understanding reached in 2023 between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, an arrangement that has periodically triggered rumours of an impending leadership change at the current government’s halfway mark, which it crossed recently. Siddaramaiah, who recently surpassed his predecessor Devaraj Urs to become Karnataka’s longest-serving chief minister, has repeatedly asserted that he intends to serve a complete term.