NEW DELHI: The Congress party has proposed a Rajya Sabha seat and a significant role at the national level for Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to facilitate the ascension of DK Shivakumar to the chief ministership. However, Siddaramaiah has reportedly not accepted the proposal, according to sources cited by the news agency PTI.
This development comes following a day of discussions involving Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, aimed at addressing the ongoing leadership conflict regarding the chief minister position. Despite the intense discussions, Congress officials have denied allegations that any leadership changes were discussed during the meeting.
KC Venugopal, the AICC general secretary, stated, “Today, the entire discussion was only concentrated on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Legislative Council elections of Karnataka.” He emphasized that any speculation regarding leadership changes was unfounded. “Whatever speculation you people are doing, that is only speculation, no reality at all. Today we discussed about the Rajya Sabha seats and the Council seats of Karnataka. This is what we have decided today, and nothing else was discussed,” Venugopal told the media after the meeting.
Nonetheless, after the high-level meeting, Siddaramaiah engaged in discussions with ministers who are regarded as close allies. This series of meetings occurs against a backdrop of ongoing tensions between the camps of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, nearly three years after the Congress reclaimed power in Karnataka.
Before his trip to Delhi for the meeting, Siddaramaiah remarked that he had not been informed of the agenda. “I have been invited to Delhi. There is a meeting tomorrow (May 26). I do not know the subject of the meeting. They have called the meeting for 11 am. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal called me, informed me about the meeting, and invited me to attend,” he stated.
The Congress leadership has intervened several times since the formation of the Karnataka government in 2023 to alleviate tensions between the two leaders. Supporters of Shivakumar have frequently asserted that an agreement was reached for a rotational chief ministership arrangement at the time the government was established, although the Congress high command has not publicly acknowledged such an arrangement.
