Siddaramaiah may soon resign as Karnataka CM, say sources
A Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting is expected to be held on Saturday.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (File photo) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to submit his resignation within the next two days, while a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting is expected to be held on Saturday, sources said.
The development comes at a time when Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar were summoned to Delhi to put an end to the constant bickering over leadership in the state.
The Congress leadership is learnt to have indicated to Siddaramaiah on Tuesday that it is considering a leadership transition in the state as part of a broader exercise to reorganise both the government and the party while preparing for future political challenges.
According to sources, the party high command wants the transition process to take place in a smooth and respectful manner and has given Siddaramaiah time to reflect on the proposal.
Sources said the message from the central leadership suggested that the party was seriously weighing a change in leadership in Karnataka. Shivakumar has long been viewed as a potential successor to lead the state government.
Officially, however, the Congress maintained that the separate meetings held with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress chief, focused on selecting candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha and MLC elections.
A day before the discussions, sources had indicated that while the Congress leadership was open to a leadership change, it wanted any transition to be consensual and without disruption, especially with the Rajya Sabha, MLC elections and polls to five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority approaching.
The issue was also discussed during a recent meeting involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and party leader K C Venugopal.
Sources said Siddaramaiah had favoured a Cabinet reshuffle, while Shivakumar pressed for clarity from the party leadership on a possible leadership transition. Shivakumar, who has served as Karnataka Congress president since July 2020, has reportedly been seeking a change in leadership for several months.
According to sources, the central leadership planned to discuss the matter with both leaders before taking a final decision. “We have not made any decision. We want to hear both of them,” a senior Congress leader said.
Share
