Karnataka CM tussle: Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar to meet for breakfast

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar are meeting for breakfast amid a power tussle over a 'secret agreement'. Shivakumar will later meet the Congress high command in Delhi. Both leaders say they will abide by the party's decision.

Amid the power tussle over the Chief Minister's post in Karnataka, CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar are meeting for breakfast on Saturday, intending to get closer to resolving the ongoing power crisis within the party. Following his breakfast meet, Shivakumar will travel to Delhi to meet the party's high command, including chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi.

Leaders Reiterate Stance Amid Tussle

Meanwhile, CM Siddharamaiah has maintained his stance. "The high command has called both of us, so I have invited him (DK Shivakumar) for breakfast, and we will talk there. As I said earlier, I will accept whatever the high command says; there is no change in my stand. Even he (DK Shivakumar) said that whatever the high command says we'll follow that..." Siddaramaiah said earlier on Friday.

Shivakumar in turn has reiterated his loyalty to the Congress and said that the party high command will take any decision regarding leadership in the congress-led state government Congress is likely to discuss the crisis with the central leaders after the party's strategy group meeting ahead of the winter session of Parliament on November 30.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru earlier, Shivakumar responded to questions about his supporters wanting to see him as the next CM."The party workers may be eager, but I am in no hurry. The party will take all the decisions." He did not rule out a visit to the national capital, though he clarified that his trip would be to raise several key issues with the Congress leadership ahead of the winter session of Parliament.

Power-Sharing Dispute and External Pressures

Nanjavadutha Swamiji, a spiritual leader from the Vokkaliga community, visited Shivakumar's residence on Friday and publicly backed him amid apparent tussle for the post of Chief Minister.

Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar have been exchanging cryptic posts on social media, with Siddaramaiah emphasising that "a word is not power unless it betters the world" and Shivakumar stating that "word power is world power."

The 'Secret Agreement'

Shivakumar is pushing for a leadership change, citing a "secret agreement" among senior leaders that he should take over as CM after 2.5 years. The high command, led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, is expected to make a decision soon.

Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have expressed willingness to abide by the party's decision.

The tussle, fueled by the "power-sharing agreement" of 2023 between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, has pushed each side's loyalists to lobby for their leaders' claims to the state's top post. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)