A late-night meeting in New Delhi on Thursday between Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge and several Karnataka Congress leaders loyal to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has intensified ongoing speculation about a possible shift in the state’s leadership.
Though the meeting took place on Thursday, party insiders have kept all details tightly guarded, offering no formal statement on what was discussed, according to News18.
On Friday morning, Shivakumar shared a cryptic post on X in Kannada which read, 'Where there is effort, there is fruit; where there is devotion, there is the Lord.."
Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi dismissed the speculations on Friday surrounding the meet and said, "There is nothing like that. We have held several meetings like that. What is happening in Delhi (Karnataka Congress MLAs meeting party chief Kharge) or elsewhere has nothing to do with this. This is routine."
Earlier on Thursday, reports suggested that a minister along with a few MLAs close to Shivakumar had travelled to the capital to speak with senior figures in the party. ANI later released video showing these leaders conversing with Kharge outside his residence, adding fuel to rumours of internal maneuvering within the ruling party.
This round of political buzz coincided with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah marking two-and-a-half years in office. Ever since Congress won the 2023 Assembly elections, the balance of power between him and Shivakumar has remained a subject of attention.
At that time, competition for the top post was intense until the Congress high command settled on Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister and Shivakumar as his deputy. Speculation about an informal “rotational chief minister formula” -- under which Shivakumar might take over midway -- has persisted, though party leaders have never confirmed such an arrangement.
Siddaramaiah, however, has repeatedly pushed back against such talk. Speaking earlier on Thursday, he dismissed chatter about an alleged ‘November revolution’, insisting it was “a media creation”.
According to him, “It is you (media) who coined the term. You cooked up this ‘revolution’. Hence, there is no ‘kranti’ (revolution) or ‘bhranti’ (confusion). We have been given a five-year tenure to rule. After five years, elections will take place and we will win once again.”
When questioned about whether he would complete his full term, the Chief Minister responded, “What does it mean? These are unwanted discussions.”
He explained that he had previously informed the party leadership that only after two-and-a-half years should a possible cabinet reshuffle be examined, and claimed that conversations about power sharing began only after that point.
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