Amid Karnataka leadership change buzz, DK Shivakumar meets Mallikarjun Kharge

Karnataka Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge amid renewed discussions over state's leadership. The meeting happened days after senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily strongly backed Shivakumar for the Chief Minister’s post, declaring that “nobody can stop him” from taking over.

However, Shivakumar, said the meeting with Kharge was a matter of protocol. “He’s my president. He’s my leader. There’s a protocol that I’ve to go and receive him, so I went,” Shivakumar said. He added that he had also invited Kharge to the foundation-laying ceremony of the new Congress office in Bengaluru. “We are laying the foundation for the new Congress office in Bangalore. I have invited him for that as well,” he said.

The discussion around leadership in Karnataka has gained traction in recent weeks. On March 2, speaking at a public event in Udupi, Moily recalled his role in securing Shivakumar’s first Assembly election ticket and praised his political growth. “I am the one who secured the MLA ticket for DK Shivakumar for the first time. Today, he has become a successful leader in Karnataka. We all wish for him to become the Chief Minister soon,” Moily had said.

Recently, Congress MLA Basavaraju Shivaganga asserted that DK Shivakumar’s elevation to the Chief Minister’s post was inevitable and that it would happen in December 2025. “There is no deadline as such. Write it down and keep it. If you want, I will write it in blood and give it to you. He will become Chief Minister in December. He will take charge in December," Shivaganga had said while speaking to reporters in Davangere on March 2.