Amid rumours of a change at the helm in Karnataka, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said that the decision has been left to the party high command. Kharge's remarks come amid an intensifying internal battle within the Congress with a section of party MLAs getting increasingly vocal about replacing Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister.
On Monday, the Congress party dispatched its chief troubleshooter, general secretary Randeep Surjewala, to Bengaluru to resolve the continuing infighting. Surjewala's three-day visit has reignited the buzz around Deputy CM DK Shivakumar's elevation to the post of chief minister.
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Kharge responded to a question on a possible regime change in the state. "It has been left to the high command, nobody can say here what is going on in the high command. This is left to the high command, they have the power to take further action, but unnecessarily one should not create problem," he said.
Kharge's remarks are seen as a tacit admission of a factional war within the Karnataka Congress as well as of a discussion on a change in regime at the highest level.
On Sunday, Karnataka Congress MLA HA Iqbal Hussain claimed that a decision on Shivakumar's elevation was likely in the next two-three months.
"You all know what our (Congress’s) strength was before this government came to power. Everyone knows who put in the struggle, sweat, effort and interest to achieve this victory. His (Shivakumar’s) strategy and programmes are history now. I don’t believe in speculation. We have full confidence that the high command is aware of the situation and will take an appropriate decision at the right time to give him an opportunity," Hussain said, when asked if Shivakumar had a chance to become CM.
Asked if he could become CM this year, Hussain replied in the affirmative. "A decision will be made within two to three months," he said, adding that this was the "revolutionary political development" some party leader were hinting at.
Hussain was referring to Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna recently hinting at "revolutionary" political developments in the state after September this year.
The Karnataka unit of the Congress has been divided between two factions led by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, respectively. The feud began soon after the declaration of the Karnataka election results in 2023 as Shivakumar staked a strong claim to the CM's chair.
The high command, which was forced to step in after days of impasse, had reportedly decided on a "rotational CM" formula while picking Siddaramaiah and consigning Shivakumar to the post of his deputy. Shivakumar was expected to take over as CM after two and a half years as per the formula.
The formula, which was later dismissed as ever having been discussed, began to gain traction earlier this year as several sitting MLAs and ministers went public with their criticism of Siddaramaiah as chief minister and flagged issues including rampant corruption.
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