A day after meeting the Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Mysuru, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who has been eyeing the chief minister's post amid ongoing differences with CM Siddaramaiah, shared a cryptic post.
In the post on X, Shivakumar said: "Even if the effort fails, the prayer does not fail."
Shivakumar drew attention with the post on the social media platform X, which political observers are viewing as a significant political signal. Notably, the Deputy Chief Minister has openly expressed his ambition to become the Chief Minister, while Siddaramaiah has made it clear that the decision rests with the Congress high command.
Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar briefly meet Rahul Gandhi
However, on Tuesday, while returning to Delhi from Tamil Nadu, Rahul Gandhi held separate meetings with D K Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the tarmac at Mysuru airport.
The brief talk between the leaders took place on the tarmac, as Gandhi landed at the Mandakalli Airport in Mysuru for transit, on his way back to New Delhi from Gudalur in Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, where he attended an event, party sources said.
Though it is not clearly known as to what transpired between the three, speculations are rife amid the struggle for CM post between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
Notably, last month, all of Shivakumar's efforts to meet Rahul Gandhi on this issue had been unsuccessful.
What do the social media posts mean?
Looking at Shivakumar's post today, it appears that Rahul Gandhi may have asked him to wait a little longer. According to sources, Rahul Gandhi has indicated that both leaders will soon be called to Delhi for a detailed discussion on the matter.
However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah clarified that no political discussions took place during his interaction with the Congress leader. Responding to media queries about alleged confusion over power-sharing in the state, Siddaramaiah maintained that there is no discord within the party, dismissing the speculation as "entirely media-driven."
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy CM. There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-a-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.
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