Amid the power tussle in the state, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the AICC party chief Mallikarjun Kharge held a meeting with the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Delhi on Friday, sources have confirmed.
The meeting lasted for around five minutes and was a one-on-one meeting with Shivakumar. During this, the leaders discussed the Karnataka power tussle. After the meeting had ended at around 10 PM, Shivakumar had another meeting with Kharge.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Karnataka Cabinet Minister KJ George also met Gandhi for around 40 minutes, sources stated further.
Gandhi met Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar earlier
A few days ago, former AICC president Gandhi had met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar in Mysuru. The brief interaction between the leaders took place when Rahul Gandhi landed at the Mandakalli Airport for a transit stop while returning to New Delhi from Gudalur in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district.
Gandhi held short conversations with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, both individually and together. The former AICC president transited through Mysuru airport twice on Tuesday - once while travelling to Gudalur earlier in the day and again on his return to New Delhi. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were present at the airport on both occasions.
While the details of the discussions remain unclear, the interactions have triggered speculation amid the ongoing tussle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over the chief minister’s post, as well as talks of a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
According to party sources, the leaders may also have discussed the Congress’s 'Save MGNREGA' campaign in Karnataka and the steps taken by the state government to press the Centre to restore provisions of the UPA-era legislation.
The brief exchange with Gandhi occurred even as both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were seeking a formal appointment with the Congress leader. Party sources said Siddaramaiah is keen on a Cabinet reshuffle, while Shivakumar wants the party to first take a call on leadership change.
Several party insiders believe that if the Congress high command clears a Cabinet reshuffle, it would indicate that Siddaramaiah is likely to complete a full five-year term, effectively diminishing Shivakumar’s prospects of assuming the top post.
However, some leaders pointed out that the party may also factor in upcoming Assembly elections in multiple states while deciding on any leadership change in Karnataka, one of the two major states where the Congress is currently in power on its own.
