DK Shivakumar denies talks of Karnataka leadership change: 'Not in a hurry for anything'

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah (right) with his deputy DK Shivakumar (left) in Bengaluru (File photo)

Amid renewed chatter inside the Congress about who should head the Karnataka government, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar pushed back against talk of an imminent leadership change, insisting he is “not in a hurry for anything.”

His remarks came at a time when political circles are once again consumed by speculation over whether a previously discussed power-sharing formula between him and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will finally be activated.

Shivakumar, addressing reporters on Thursday, dismissed claims that he had travelled to Mumbai to meet senior party figures regarding a possible shift in leadership.

He clarified that he had “not met top party leaders” during that trip and noted that any conversation of such importance would occur either in Bengaluru or Delhi, not elsewhere.

"I have come for a family function. There was no meeting or anything. Why would I come to a meeting in Mumbai? If there has to be a meeting, it will be in Bangalore or Delhi," he said.

Responding to questions about whether he had raised the issue of the Karnataka Chief Minister's post with the party leadership, the Deputy Chief Minister said, "No... I am not in a hurry for anything."

The backdrop to this controversy is the much-talked-about arrangement allegedly worked out in 2023 between the two leaders. While he has hinted before about a “secret deal,” Shivakumar has recently insisted that any such understanding was known only to “five-six” people within the Congress.

He declined to go beyond that, arguing that speaking openly about it would “weaken the party.”

Signs of strain between the CM and his deputy became more visible in recent days. Shivakumar posted a cryptic message on social media, declaring that “keeping one’s word is greatest strength” and adding that “word power is world power.”

Many within the party interpreted this as a pointed reminder to the leadership. Siddaramaiah, for his part, offered carefully framed comments of his own, highlighting the steady rise in friction at the top.

Responding to Shivakumar’s cryptic X post, the Chief Minister posted on X: "A Word is not power unless it betters the World for the people."

A day earlier, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said that he and Chief Minister Siddaramiah will travel to Delhi if the party's leadership asks them to do so.

If the High Command asks me and the CM to come to Delhi, we will go," Shivakumar told reporters at Vidhana Soudha.

On Thursday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that a decision concerning leadership will be made after a discussion among the party's central leaders, apart from Siddaramiah and Shivakumar.

"I will call everyone and have a discussion. Rahul Gandhi will also remain present in that discussion. Other members will also remain present. CM and Dy CM will also remain present. The decision will be made after a discussion. There is a team. I am not alone. The entire high command team will discuss and make a decision," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has also implied that he remains in the race for the Chief Minister's post amid demands from Dalit organisations for a Dalit Chief Minister.

"I have always been in the CM race. In 2013, I was the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). We brought the Congress government to power then. I have never said that I brought the government to power alone. Everyone worked together. People voted and made the party win. I was defeated at that time. I don't know what would have happened if I had won. They give the KPCC president a chance. That is not followed in some cases," Parameshwara said.

With inputs from agencies