In a development that has intensified the ongoing leadership tussle in Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's recent statement suggesting the dispute between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar should be resolved at the local level has sparked fresh confusion over the decision-making process within the party.
Kharge's comment has muddied the waters in a contest that had already drawn widespread attention across the state and the national leadership.
Speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi on Monday, Kharge said the "confusion" over the leadership question was confined to the state Congress unit and insisted it was not the high command that had sown discord.
"The high command hasn't created any confusion. It exists at the local level," he said, urging local leaders to take responsibility rather than blame the party's central leadership in Delhi.
The remark runs contrary to the perception that the Congress high command in New Delhi, including leaders such as Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, would intervene directly to mediate the longstanding tussle.
The remarks also appear to support Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's insistence that he would continue on the post for a full five-year term.
The leadership row stems from an alleged power-sharing understanding reached after the party’s victory in the May 2023 Karnataka assembly elections, when Siddaramaiah was appointed chief minister and Shivakumar became deputy chief minister.
"I don't know about it. Rahul Gandhi and the high command have to decide. Whatever they decide, I'm committed to it," Siddaramaiah said responding to a question on Kharge's remarks. "I have spoken to the high command. They have said that they will decide. I will abide by whatever the high command decides."
On Friday, Siddaramaiah said in the state Assembly that he would continue in office for his full term and rejected any agreement on power-sharing.
The supporters of Shivakumar, however, have repeatedly claimed that the power-sharing agreement was made at the time of government formation. Their calls to install Shivakumar as the CM gained traction soon after the government completed its two-and-a-half year tenure.
"Keeping one's word is the greatest strength in the world! The biggest force in the world was to keep one's word. Be it a judge, president or anyone else, including myself, everyone has to walk the talk. Word power is world power," Shivakumar had tweeted then.
In response, Siddaramaiah countered Shivakumar with a smart word play, saying: "A word is not power unless it betters the world for the people." The CM then went on to list the numerous welfare schemes that his government had launched for the people of the state.
Kharge's remarks also counter Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar's public insistence that the party high command holds ultimate authority over leadership decisions.
The tension has unfurled against a backdrop of repeated claims and counterclaims about informal power-sharing arrangements, with both camps carefully managing public messaging to avoid alienating party workers and legislators.
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