Senior leaders of Karnataka’s ruling Congress have repeatedly responded to speculation of a new leadership by insisting that any decision on the chief minister’s post rests solely with the party high command, ruling out internal power struggles.
No internal strife over state leadership: Cuttack CongressHealth Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said there was no formal discussion about the leadership change. “There is no discussion going on. Some MLAs have spoken, that’s all. There is nothing like that. The CM and the DCM have said that whatever the High Command decides is final. These are all rumours. All the MLAs, the CM and the DCM are with the High Command. There is no conflict. There is no problem, no division in the Congress party, and we are all together.”
Home Minister G. Parameshwara echoed that stance, saying Siddaramaiah would remain as chief minister unless the central leadership decided otherwise. “The high command is looking at everything, and they will take a decision when they feel it is necessary. They may feel that there is no such situation now, so they have not said anything about it so far,” he said.
On Siddaramaiah’s tenure, he added, “Who made Siddaramaiah the chief minister? It is the high command, and until the high command says Siddaramaiah will remain in that position.”
“As far as I know, the high command has not taken any decision on the change of chief minister so far,” Parameshwara said, adding that he was not aware of any agreement on a rotating chief minister after the 2023 assembly elections.
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“Siddaramaiah was announced as the chief minister, after the assembly polls, after the Congress elected the legislative party leader. There was no proposal for a change in the mid-term. Accordingly, Siddaramaiah is preparing for the chief ministerial and state budgets, which he will present next month,” he said.
Reacting to the comments of MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, the chief minister’s son, Parameshwara said, “Ultimately, whatever the high command decides is final, it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else says. Depending on the situation, if necessary, the high command will convey their decision.”
He also rejected suggestions of confusion within the party. “Recently the Congress Legislature party met, if there was any confusion, the matter would have been raised, and the question would have been asked to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.”
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Deputy Chief Minister DK Sivakumar, who recently met party leaders in New Delhi, declined to discuss the meeting. “I can’t reveal it. Time will answer everything… We are all politicians; politicians do whatever they want. There is nothing wrong with that. We have met. Why are you making a big deal out of it? We come here for government work, party work. We come here for politics,” he said.
Yathindra Siddaramaiah had earlier said in Bidar, “My father, Siddaramaiah, will be chief minister for the full five years. There is no confusion about that.”
“As of now, there is no indication from the high command about any change in chief minister,” he said, adding, “So far, there has been no formal discussion about a change in leadership.”
