After Kerala, now the Congress is witnessing a power tussle in Karnataka as the government completes three years. Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar reached Delhi on Monday to meet the Congress top brass.
This comes days after both the Congress leaders met the party high command during Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan's swearing-in. Satheesan himself was locked in a race to the top job in Kerala with AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal and veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.
Reports suggest that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Venugopal will meet both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar together and separately.
However, Siddaramaiah maintained that he was unaware fo the agenda of the Tuesday meeting. "I'm invited to Delhi. Tomorrow there is a meeting by 11 am. I don't know the subject. But, I'm invited," he said.
Though some reports earlier suggested a cabinet reshuffle and upcoming elections to four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka, it is highly likely that Shivakumar will be given the CM's post. But how the Congress top leadership convinces Siddaramaiah to give up the post remains to be seen.
Ever since the Congress came to power in 2023, Shivakumar's supporters have been seeking his appointment as CM in line with a previously agreed power-sharing formula with Siddaramaiah. On November 20, when the Congress government completed its halfway mark, Shivakumar's supporters camped in Delhi to seek CM post for their leader.
Back then, Kharge said that the high command would give the medicine when required. "People in the high command – Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and I – will sit together and deliberate on this... We will give the medicine when required," he said.
Siddaramaiah has asserted that he will complete the full term of five years as chief minister. However, both leaders also maintained that they will abide by the Congress high command's decision.
