A day-long consultation between the Congress high command and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar ended on Tuesday evening with the party vehemently denying that it had discussed a change in the state’s leadership lineup, insisting that the discussions were strictly limited to strategies for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
This assertion has been interpreted as indicating that the party will maintain the status quo for the time being.
According to people familiar with the discussions, the Congress leadership heard the positions of Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar through a series of separate and joint meetings at the All India Congress Committee headquarters.
“Whatever speculation you people are making, it is just speculation. It is not reality at all,” said KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary.
Venugopal emphasized that the talks in Delhi were related to electoral matters related to Karnataka, particularly the upcoming Rajya Sabha and vacant positions in the legislative council.
“Today we discussed Rajya Sabha seats and Karnataka Assembly seats. Candidates for Rajya Sabha and Karnataka Assembly seats will be announced along with other seats like Chhattisgarh, like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, such states. That’s all,” he said.
The day’s discussions began at Indira Bhavan with Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Karg meeting Venugopal and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala before holding extensive consultations with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
Siddaramaiah later held a separate meeting with Gandhi where discussions continued across multiple sessions during the afternoon.
Gandhi left the headquarters briefly for lunch while Karji, Venugopal, Surjewala, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar remained inside for further deliberations over a working lunch.
Read also:Rajya Sabha likely to move from Siddaramaiah, but Shivakumar may not be Speaker: What’s next for Karnataka?
After lunch, Gandhi, Karji and Venugopal held another round of discussions without Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar present, according to those familiar with the developments at the headquarters.
The consultations took place against the backdrop of ongoing debate within the Karnataka Congress over the leadership structure in the state government, expansion of the Cabinet and appointments to the Rajya Sabha and Karnataka Legislative Council.
“Speculation has always been there,” Siddaramaiah said, before leaving Bengaluru for Delhi earlier in the day, citing speculation surrounding the chief minister’s post.
In his recent remarks, Siddaramaiah also emphasized that the final decision on the leadership of Karnataka rests entirely with the Congress leadership in Delhi.
“The issue of leadership change has to be decided by Rahul Gandhi. Whatever his decision is, we are committed to it,” he said.
Shivakumar, who has faced repeated questions about whether he expects to become chief minister, responded earlier this week with a brief remark that continued to circulate during political discussions on Tuesday. He said: “Time will tell the answer.”
After his arrival in Delhi, Shivakumar was again asked if he expected to take over as chief minister. He refused to answer.
Karnataka Minister Satish Jarkiholi said the Delhi consultations could help remove uncertainty within the Karnataka Congress unit.
