Siddaramaiah claims 'full support' of Congress high command amid challenge by DK Shivakumar: 'Wouldn't have continued if...'

Siddaramaiah also dismissed the idea of any power-sharing arrangement

Amid allegations of tussle with his deputy DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would not have been able to continue in the post with the support of the Congress brass.

"The question of leadership is not with the high command. It (Shivakumar's challenge) has been resolved. I am getting the full support of the Congress high command... wouldn't have continued if they had not supported me," the Chief Minister told NDTV.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are both in Delhi amid the buzz of a change of guard, which refuses to die down despite the party’s dismissal of it for now. However, the Congress has maintained that they were both in the national capital to discuss party appointments and invite Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for a state event.

“Yesterday Shivakumar and I met Surjewala... we discussed appointments to remaining (municipal) boards and corporations, and opportunities for party workers. He is coming again to Bengaluru on July 16 and we will finalise the list," the Chief Minister said.

Siddaramaiah on Thursday said  there is “no vacancy for the Chief Minister's post”.
Siddaramaiah, who currently is in Delhi said, “I am pretty much here before you, I am the Chief Minister of Karnataka. I am sitting here. There is no vacancy for the CM post in Karnataka,” adding that Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has himself acknowledged this.

He also dismissed the idea of any power-sharing arrangement: “There is no 50-50 formula. Whatever decision is taken by the high command, we will follow it.”

There was reportedly a stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the deputy chief minister.

Over  last few days that “deal” has been repeatedly referred to by MLAs loyal to Shivakumar, but those loyal to Siddaramaiah have denied any deal.

The infighting came to the fore after Aland MLA BR Patil accused the Housing Department of corruption and alleged bribery in the allocation of public housing units. Meanwhile, Kagwad MLA Raju Kage complained about the delay in developmental works and the non-release of funds. He even hinted at the possibility of resigning. Poor governance, lack of development funds and corruption are some of the allegations levelled by Congress leaders including Raju Kage, BR Patil, NY Gopalakrishna and MLC Belur Gopalakrishna.