Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar may be called to Delhi for talks if needed in order to resolve the power tussle in the southern state, said Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday.
"Whenever necessary, the party would call them," Kharge told reporters when asked whether the chief minister and deputy chief minister will be summoned to Delhi.
This comes days after Kharge denied reports of a power tussle in Karnataka and said there is a confusion regarding the leadership only at the state-level. He had stressed that the local leadership should take a ownership and resolve the crisis at their level.
The leadership crisis and Congress' denial
After the Congress stormed to power in Karnataka in 2023, the party top brass had reportedly finalised a 2.5-year formula for Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar; although both the leaders have denied about it. With the Siddaramaiah government completing the halfway mark of its five-year in November last year, speculations about a possible leadership change are being made in the state.
Several Congress MLAs, considered to be Shivakumar loyalists, had also visited Delhi and urged the party leadership to make a change at the state level. With the leadership crisis continuing in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have held two breakfast meetings to resolve the situation.
The two leaders have jointly, as well as separately, denied reports of rift between them. Siddaramaiah, who has become the longest serving chief minister of Karnataka, has also expressed confidence that he will complete his complete five-year tenue. Though, he has maintained that the final decision rests with the Congress high command.
However, Shivakumar - who is also the Karnataka Congress president - met Kharge again last month, sparking speculations of a leadership change in Karnataka once again. On Sunday, he also said his hard work had brought him this far in politics and that he was confident about the Congress party’s future decision regarding him.
