As tremors ripple through the Karnataka Congress amid heightened speculations over the CM post, Rahul Gandhi has responded to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, after almost a week of his attempts to reach out.
The party high command is reportedly expected to take a decision on any change in the chief minister post before the December 1 Parliament session.
According to party sources, Shivakumar had been attempting to speak with Rahul Gandhi regarding the internal developments. Gandhi responded with a short WhatsApp text: “Please wait, I will call you", according to a report by India Today.
DK Shivakumar will also be heading to the national capital on November 29 to meet the party high command.
Karnataka politics
Around 10 MLAs from the DK Shivakumar camp have been camping in the capital with one demand: change the Chief Minister. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have denied any such move, but the tension is palpable.
The chatter centres around an alleged internal pact which Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar agreed upon after the 2023 elections that they would share the CM’s post: 2.5 years each. Siddaramaiah took oath on May 20, 2023, and a leadership change was expected around November 20 as the government completed the halfway mark of its term.
When nothing moved, Shivakumar’s loyalist MLAs escalated their demand and landed in Delhi. “DK Shivakumar will be the Chief Minister,” Ramanagara MLA Iqbal Hussain reiterated. “200 per cent, he will become the CM soon. The high command will decide. As our leader said, the transfer of power was a secret deal among five to six senior leaders—and those people will decide,” he added.
‘The Gandhis and I will mediate’
Amid speculation over leadership change in Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said the issue will be resolved after discussions at the top level with senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
“Only the people there can say what the government is doing there. But I would like to say that we will resolve such issues. People in the High Command — Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and I — will sit together and deliberate on this…We will give the mediation that is required," he told ANI.
Meanwhile, responding to a question about legislators backing Shivakumar travelling to Delhi, Siddaramaiah had said on Tuesday, “Let them go. MLAs have freedom. Let’s see what opinion they give. Ultimately, the high command has to make the decision. We will abide by what the high command says….Whatever they (legislators) want to say, let them say to the high command. Ultimately, to put a full stop to this confusion, the high command has to take the decision."
(With inputs from agencies)
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