Will Siddaramaiah resign this week? DKS likely to be Karnataka CM despite Congress's official denial: Sources

Even as the Congress officially declared that Siddaramaiah will continue to be the chief minister of Karnataka, multiple reports citing sources revealed that he will step down later this week and make way for D.K. Shivakumar to take over the top post in the state.

What will Siddaramaiah get in return? Sources have claimed that Siddaramaiah has been offered a Rajya Sabha berth and asked to play a national role from Delhi. His son Yathindra Siddaramaiah is likely to be deputy chief minister.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah is yet give nod to the high command's proposal and sought more time to decide on the issue. Minister loyal to Siddaramaiah and his close aides have reportedly asked him to weigh in all his options before deciding on resigning as CM.

The reports come after a day-long discussions between the Congress high command and the state top brass. AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the party discussed only the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and vacant MLC seats.

"Whatever speculation you people are doing, that is only speculation. No reality at all," said Venugopal denying reports of Siddaramaiah stepping down. He was addressing the media while flanked by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

"The candidates of Rajya Sabha and Council seats of Karnataka will be announced along with the other seats like Chhattisgarh, like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, like these states. That's all," he said.

The nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections have to be filed by June 8.

If Shivakumar becomes chief minister, it will put an end to years-long power tussle in the Karnataka Congress unit as his supporters have been claiming that the top job was promised to their leader during the 2023 assembly elections.

In November, when the Congress government completed its halfway mark, Shivakumar's supporters camped in Delhi to seek the chief minister's post for their leader. However, Siddaramiah asserted that he wanted to complete the full five-year term as CM.

Amid uncertainty in the state leadership, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly R. Ashoka on Tuesday said the power struggle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had pushed the government into a "coma stage".

"The CM had said that Ministers will have to tour districts once in 15 days, but the CM himself is not following it. No one is touring their district to address public grievances, everyone is on a Delhi tour... It was said that grievance redressal meetings are not being held. Everyone is on a Delhi tour," Ashoka said.