The Congress party has asked Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah to resign, according to multiple media reports on Wednesday, 27 May. This development, awaiting confirmation from the Congress party, could perhaps end months of speculation about a change in the state leadership.
The chief minister has sought time besides rejecting the party high command’s proposal to be a Rajya Sabha member.
The party leadership has reportedly backed Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar‘s claim, according to an NDTV report citing sources.
The Chief Minister was given time to mull over the idea to ensure smooth transition in Karnataka – one of the four states where Congress is in power.
Shivakumar had been demanding elevation
The top leadership of the Congress party met for hours seperately with Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar in the national capital on Tuesday to resolve what was being called a leadership tussle in the state.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had arrived in the national capital, accompanied by the MLAs supporting them.
Siddaramaiah told ministers loyal to him, at a dinner meeting in New Delhi before leaving for Bengaluru, that he will convene a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party soon and announce his decision to step down, according to a report in Indian Express.
At the core of the leadership tangle in the southern state is Shivakumar’s demand that he be elevated to the chief minister’s post in accordance with a “promise” his supporters claim was made to him during the 2023 state assembly elections.
The Congress’s central leadership held deliberations for several hours with its Karnataka state leaders, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the state party chief, at the Indira Bhawan headquarters.
Leadership change was not discussed: Congress
The party leaders, however, insisted that the issue of any leadership change was not discussed at the meeting attended by Congress president Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary, Organisation, K C Venugopal, and AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Surjewala, among others.
“Today, the entire discussion was only concentrated on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and (Legislative) Council elections of Karnataka.
“Whatever speculation you people are doing, that is only speculation, no reality at all. Today we discussed about the Rajya Sabha seats and the Council seats of Karnataka,” Venugopal told the media after the meeting. He was flanked by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
He said the candidates of the Rajya Sabha and Council seats of Karnataka will be announced along with the other seats like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. “This is what we have decided today, and nothing else was discussed,” he asserted.
Asked about any leadership change, Siddaramaiah also said, “It is only a speculation”. Asked if there was any discussion on leadership change, he replied emphatically with “No”. On a possible cabinet reshuffle, the chief minister said, “It did not come up for discussion.”
Of the four Rajya Sabha seats getting vacant in Karnataka, the Congress can win three seats and the BJP one. Kharge’s Rajya Sabha seat is getting vacant in June and he is likely to be re-elected from Karnataka.
The party may also field Shivakumar’s brother D K Suresh as one of the Rajya Sabha candidates, as well as a woman or an OBC nominee. Suresh has been a former Rajya Sabha member from the state.
Besides, the Congress leaders are also learnt to have discussed the party candidates for the legislative council seats. The Congress is likely to get four seats in the legislative council out of the seven vacancies, going by its present strength in the state assembly.
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